A good business sim gives you a real business to run, numbers that add up, and decisions with consequences. On iPhone, the best-loved is Game Dev Tycoon. Kairosoft's Game Dev Story and Mega Mall Story 2 are long-running favourites. And our own Director games each simulate a different industry in depth: Hotel Director, Oil Director, Vineyard Director and Airport Director.
We make the Director games, so they come first, and we say so. Everything about other studios' games comes from their App Store listings, checked on 20 October 2026. Prices are US prices.
At a glance
| Game | Business | Price | In-app purchases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Director | Hotel group in London | Free | Optional cities and features |
| Oil Director | Oil exploration and production | $2.99 | None |
| Vineyard Director | Wine estate | $2.99 | None |
| Airport Director | Airport | $2.99 | None |
| Game Dev Tycoon | Games studio | $4.99 | None |
| Game Dev Story | Games studio | $4.99 | None |
| Mega Mall Story 2 | Shopping mall | $5.99 | None |
| Hot Springs Story | Hot-spring resort | $5.99 | None |
| Stardew Valley | Farm | $4.99 | None |
| Hundred Days | Winery | $5.99 | One expansion |
The Director games: a real business each
Every Director game simulates one industry in detail, with no ads, no timers and no internet needed.
Hotel Director: the deepest finances
Turn-based, one week per turn. Set nightly rates against the market, staff every role, keep the building in repair, and fund growth with leases, mortgages and business loans while corporation tax waits at the end of the year. A hotel can show a profit and still run out of cash, and three weeks in the red ends the game. Free, with London in full. More about Hotel Director, or read the hotel management game page.
Oil Director: a market you can't control
Real time. Sign licences, survey, drill and pipe the barrels to market while the oil price swings from glut to crisis. Keep your promises to buyers, watch your netback per barrel, and climb from Wildcatter to Supermajor. More about Oil Director, or read how to make money in Oil Director.
Vineyard Director: quality against quantity
Real time through the seasons. Every critic's point raises your prices, but thinning the crop for quality means less wine to sell. Choose between the cellar door, distributors and export, and borrow when you need to grow. More about Vineyard Director.
Airport Director: the business of flights
Real time. Sign airlines, set landing fees and retail prices, keep the queues moving and take a loan when you need to grow. More about Airport Director.
Other business sims worth playing
Game Dev Tycoon
Start a games company in a garage in the 1980s and grow it into a top publisher, researching technology and inventing new genres. Rated 4.9 from more than 24,000 ratings, with no in-app purchases or ads. $4.99.
Game Dev Story
Kairosoft's pixel-art take on the same idea, and one of the best-rated tycoons on the store. $4.99, no in-app purchases.
Mega Mall Story 2 and Hot Springs Story
Two more from Kairosoft: build and run a shopping mall, or a Japanese hot-spring resort. Both $5.99 with no in-app purchases.
Stardew Valley
More life sim than spreadsheet, but at heart it's about making a run-down farm pay: choosing crops, selling produce and reinvesting. $4.99, no in-app purchases.
Hundred Days
A winemaking business sim from vine to market. Its App Store rating is lower than the others here, at 3.5. $5.99, with a Napa Valley expansion as an in-app purchase.
With a subscription
- Football Manager 26 Mobile is on Netflix: manage a football club. It needs a Netflix membership.
- Turmoil+ is on Apple Arcade: a 19th-century oil-drilling business game.
What makes a good business sim?
- Numbers that add up. Revenue, costs and cash should behave like a real business, where profit and cash aren't the same thing.
- Trade-offs. Every choice should cost something: price against volume, quality against quantity, growth against risk.
- Consequences. It should be possible to fail, and to see exactly why.
Frequently asked
What is the best business simulation game for iPhone? Game Dev Tycoon is the best-rated. For a specific industry, try Hotel Director (free) or Oil Director.
Are there business sims without in-app purchases? Yes: Game Dev Tycoon, the Kairosoft games, Stardew Valley, and our Oil, Vineyard and Airport Director are all paid once with nothing more to buy.
Is there a free business simulation game with no ads? Hotel Director is free and has no ads. London plays in full; other cities are optional purchases.