Power Network Tycoon

Commercial single-player game by the solo studio David Made This in which the player builds and runs a high-voltage grid for a growing island town, with a physics-based model of voltage, current, conductor heating and protection.

Power Network Tycoon is a game about keeping the lights on. The player starts on an empty island and places generators, substations, poles and power lines while the town grows into a city.³ Demand rises, equipment ages, and storms, heatwaves and cold snaps test the network.^1,4 When the player is satisfied with the city, they hand the network to a regulator, which scores it on its size and how well it was designed.³ The points unlock new technology, such as solar panels, wind turbines and batteries, for the next island, so the grid can move away from oil-fired generation.³

David, who works alone, makes it under the name David Made This.^2,4 He is a power engineer in Australia.⁵ It came out in early access in 2024, and version 1.0 was released on 30 September 2026.^1,4

The difference from most city builders is the electricity model.² The game treats power as voltage and current flowing through real equipment, not as one supply-and-demand number.³ Lines overheat when they carry too much, and the fix is a heavier conductor or more paths for the power to take.³ The player manages power factor and adds capacitor banks, lightning rods and grounding rods.^1,3 In-game instruments borrowed from the industry include an electromagnetic field meter, an infrared camera and a tool for ground potential rise, the voltage that builds up in the ground around equipment during a fault.^1,3,4 Text, video and interactive tutorials explain these ideas in accessible terms.³

It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, is sold on Steam and itch.io among other stores, and is single-player, with a level editor.^1,3,4 For someone who wants a feel for why a grid runs short as demand grows, it is a low-cost way in.