SimCity 2000
SimCity 2000 is a 1993 city-building simulation developed by Maxis. Players plan and manage a city from a detailed isometric perspective, zoning land, laying utilities, roads, highways and mass transit, managing budgets, taxes and city ordinances, and coping with disasters as their metropolis grows.
The game greatly expanded its predecessor with underground layers for water pipes and subways, a wider range of buildings and services including schools, hospitals and prisons, and more detailed economic and management systems such as issuing bonds. Its added depth, terrain editing, and the ability to build arcologies and view the city from multiple rotations made it a defining, richly featured entry in the city-building genre.
SimCity 2000 is fondly remembered as one of the strongest games in the series and a favorite of the era. It remains available through digital re-releases, and its ideas continue to shape city-building games today.
Play it today
Modern alternatives to SimCity 2000, with the devices they run on and their price. Ordered editorially by how well each one stands in for the original, with community votes weighted in as they accumulate.
Prices, platform availability and Steam Deck compatibility can change at any time. Always check the store page before buying.
Urbek City Builder Indie
€ 19,99A cosy indie city-builder where districts grow organically as you build.
Urbek City Builder runs on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. Not available on iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet. It is Steam Deck Verified.
Cities: Skylines
€ 27,99The acclaimed first game, more affordable and playable on more machines.
Cities: Skylines runs on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. Not available on iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet. It is Steam Deck Verified.
SimCity BuildIt
Free + in-app purchasesEA's free-to-play mobile city-builder for phones and tablets.
SimCity BuildIt runs on iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet. Not available on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Steam Deck.
Cities: Skylines II
€ 49,99The leading modern city-builder with deep simulation and huge modding support.
Cities: Skylines II runs on PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox. Not available on Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, Switch. It is Steam Deck Verified.
Citystate II Indie
€ 24,99A lean, politics-driven builder about taxation and ideology, closer to the old SimCity budget screens than to Skylines.
Citystate II runs on PC. Not available on Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Unsupported.
Highrise City
€ 27,99A city builder that bolts a resource economy onto classic zoning and traffic management.
Highrise City runs on PC. Not available on Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Android tablet, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch. It is Steam Deck Unsupported.
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