The best simulation indie games, ranked by reviews

Data report Built from live indielist data on 2026-07-24. Rankings update as data changes.

indielist tracks 1405 simulation indie games on Steam, holding 20,128,054 reviews at an average of 86% positive. This list ranks them by Steam review count, the most reliable public sales proxy, with a white-box sales estimate behind every title. The most reviewed is Rust with 1,383,303 reviews. Figures are tracked by indielist; sales numbers are estimates that each expand into their full formula.

The ranking

1. Rust · 1,383,303 reviews · 87% positive · 2018
2. Garry's Mod · 1,081,337 reviews · 97% positive · 2006
3. Stardew Valley · 882,604 reviews · 98% positive · 2016
4. Euro Truck Simulator 2 · 775,884 reviews · 97% positive · 2012
5. The Forest · 577,971 reviews · 96% positive · 2018
6. Don't Starve Together · 373,459 reviews · 95% positive · 2016
7. Project Zomboid · 350,081 reviews · 94% positive · 2013
8. Raft · 321,118 reviews · 93% positive · 2022
9. No Man's Sky · 310,268 reviews · 85% positive · 2016
10. People Playground · 295,783 reviews · 98% positive · 2019
11. Schedule I · 282,319 reviews · 98% positive · 2025
12. Sons Of The Forest · 280,088 reviews · 88% positive · 2024
13. 7 Days to Die · 275,623 reviews · 87% positive · 2024
14. RimWorld · 243,385 reviews · 98% positive · 2018
15. Satisfactory · 232,215 reviews · 97% positive · 2024
16. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord · 228,008 reviews · 88% positive · 2022
17. Factorio · 193,619 reviews · 98% positive · 2020
18. 鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal · 189,933 reviews · 56% positive · 2023
19. Human Fall Flat · 173,860 reviews · 95% positive · 2016
20. American Truck Simulator · 165,760 reviews · 97% positive · 2016

How this list is built

Games are ranked by Steam review count, the most reliable public proxy for sales when actual figures are private. Each title links to its indielist page, where the white-box sales estimate expands into the full Boxleiter formula, so you can audit the number rather than trust a black box. Review counts come from Steam; sales figures are estimates, not official sales data.

Want the underlying estimate for your own game? Try the sales estimator, or browse the full game directory.