ConsoleMe is a deep, unforgiving game studio management simulator where success isn't just about making great games, it's about surviving the business behind them. Start in 1984 and build your studio from a scrappy startup into a legendary name, or run it straight into the ground trying. You'll hire staff, manage payroll, design your own console hardware, negotiate launch-day exclusives, chase trends and innovations, survive market crashes, deal with policy regimes, investors, publishers, and competitors... and try not to miss payroll while doing it. There are no perfect runs. Only lessons. BUILD GAMES ACROSS DECADES Create games across multiple eras of the industry, from the early console years to modern platforms. Choose genres, scopes, engines, platforms, and business models through a cinematic guided wizard with genre-specific video and sound. Design your own box art in a full drag-and-drop design studio before you ship. Plan your launch, schedule release dates, run marketing campaigns, send press previews, negotiate platform deals, and build hype before pulling the trigger. Or just ship it and hope for the best. Support games after launch with DLC, live services, ports, remasters, remakes, content updates, price drops, and complete editions. Build franchises, manage sequel fatigue, and track brand value across your entire catalogue. Your games don't exist in a vacuum, the market changes, competitors react, and timing matters. DESIGN AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN CONSOLE Research technology through a full R&D tech tree, 46 nodes across CPUs, GPUs, RAM, storage, media, controllers, chassis, and special features. Design every detail of your hardware in a 6-step wizard: form factor, internal components, external shell, controller layout, pricing strategy, and launch plan. Announce your console and enter a pre-launch phase where you negotiate exclusive launch titles with AI developers, build your own first-party games, manufacture stock, and build buzz before launch day. Read detailed launch reports 4 weeks after any console hits the market, yours or a competitor's, with grades, sales breakdowns, lineup analysis, and analyst verdicts. Track console performance over time with 6-monthly intelligence reports covering market share, sales trends, top games, and growth forecasts. RUN A REAL BUSINESS (NOT JUST A DEV TEAM) Manage cash flow, payroll, rent, taxes, loans, grants, and investors. Choose where your company is based and expand offices across countries. Deal with shifting policy regimes, tax changes, and economic cycles. Use the analytics tab to track genre trends, profitability by platform, and market share over time. Balance growth against risk — scale too fast and you'll trigger coordination stress, pipeline overload, burnout cascades, and eventually collapse. Money runs out faster than you think. MANAGE PEOPLE, NOT JUST NUMBERS Hire staff with traits, skills, morale, fatigue, and ambitions. Staff have career goals, ship a hit, get promoted, mentor juniors, work on their favourite genre. Meet their goals and earn loyalty. Ignore them and they'll leave. Deal with personal events — family emergencies, creative breakthroughs, burnout recovery, conflicts with colleagues, industry award nominations. Promote leaders and deal with internal politics and alignment. A great team can save a bad plan. A bad culture can sink a great studio. COMPETE IN A LIVING INDUSTRY Compete against procedurally generated AI studios with unique personalities, genre preferences, and growth strategies. Studios enter the market, grow, decline, get acquired, and shut down — every playthrough is different. Your closest competitor becomes your rival. Track head-to-head wins, watch them poach your staff, and race to release in the same genre. Navigate a dynamic market where genres move through boom-and-bust cycles — emerging, growing, saturated, declining, niche. Time your releases or get burned. Attend annual industry events — Hardware Showcases, Developer Conferences, Game Jams — each with real gameplay consequences. Compete for Game of the Year at the annual Awards Ceremony across 13 categories. Your trophies live in a permanent awards wall. Read rich, context-aware news that references your studio, your rivals, and the consoles you're all fighting over. LEAVE A LEGACY Every run tells a story. Chase 12 prestige goals and 5 titan milestones — from Genre Master to Industry Legend. Display your Game of the Year wins, nominations, and lifetime stats in the trophy room. Past runs are tracked so you can see what you built — and how it ended. Carry over bonuses into New Game+ for your next attempt. Bankruptcy is a failure... but also a lesson. Learn, adapt, and try again with better decisions next time. Make hits. Miss payroll. Try again.