How Do Sliders Work in Game Dev Tycoon?

Understand what each phase prioritizes and set sliders for better reviews.

Understand the engine, gameplay, and story slider effect on your games. Learn phase 1, 2, 3 slider priorities explained in detail, the slider impact on review score, and the tech design ratio slider guide. Avoid slider mistakes that cause low reviews, get the slider guide for action, RPG, and simulation genres, and master time allocation sliders for all phases.

Why sliders matter

Sliders decide how your team spends time in each phase.

Even a perfect combo can fail with the wrong slider focus.

Each genre has a different ideal balance per phase.

What Does Each Slider Do?

Phase 1

Engine & Gameplay

Balance engine work with gameplay depending on genre and game size.

Action and Simulation lean heavily on gameplay.

Large games need more engine investment.

Avoid extremes unless a genre strongly favors it.

Phase 2

Story & Design

Story matters more for narrative genres; design wins for casual titles.

RPG and Adventure need higher story focus.

Casual games lean toward design and usability.

Keep tech from falling too far behind.

Phase 3

Polish & Tech

Polish is critical for review scores; tech must match platform era.

Never drop polish too low on medium/large games.

Invest in tech when targeting advanced platforms.

Marketing and polish together boost sales.

Fast workflow

Pick your topic and genre.

Open Slider Presets for the genre.

Apply the values for each phase in-game.

Re-check sliders when you change game size.

Want exact numbers per genre?

Use the presets to copy the best slider values instantly.

Open Slider Presets Find best genre