The Most Popular Simulation Video Games Right Now

Ranker Games
Updated September 15, 2023 1.4K votes 276 voters
Over 200 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Most Popular Simulation Video Games Right Now

Gamers everywhere, we're ranking the most popular simulation games in 2021. Featuring both old and new games, this list of the most played simulator games right now include some of the best-selling games on PC. What are the top 10 simulation video games today?

Simulators, like The Sims 4, Farming Simulator, Kerbal Space Program, and Cities: Skylines, keep getting new players, thanks to Twitch streamers and YouTube gaming channels. Including car simulators, flight simulations, dating sims, yandere games, or good online simulation games trending now, this list has it all.

Vote up the best simulation games everyone should be playing right now, and feel free to add your favorites that are missing from this list. Games from all consoles (PS5, Xbox X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch) are welcome, including mobile and PC games. 

Most divisive: Tropico 6
Ranked by
  • Microsoft Flight Simulator
    1
    • Developer: Asobo Studio
    • Genres (Video game): Simulation
    Microsoft Flight Simulator is a flight simulation game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game was released for Xbox X/S in 2021. It is the 14th entry of the Flight simulator series and allows players to learn flight protocols, and controls in order to fly an airplane across the world.
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons
    2
    • Developer: Nintendo EPD
    • Genres (Video game): Social simulation, real-life simulation
    As in previous installments in the Animal Crossing series, New Horizons is a nonlinear life simulation game played in real-time. The player assumes the role of a customizable character who moves to a deserted island after purchasing a vacation package from Tom Nook, a raccoon character who is a staple of the series. The game proceeds in an open-ended fashion as the player explores the island, and develops it into a community of anthropomorphic animals.
  • Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition
    3
    • Developer: Two Point Studios
    • Genres (Video game): Business simulation
    Two Point Hospital: Jumbo Edition is a business simulation game developed by Two Point Studios and published by Sega. The game was released in 2021 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Players are tasked with constructing and operating an empire of hospitals in the fictional Two Point County, with the goal of curing patients of fictitious, comical ailments.
  • The Sims 4
    4

    The Sims 4

    2014
    111 votes
    • Developer: Maxis, The Sims Studio
    • Genres (Video game): Life simulation
    The Sims 4 is a 2014 life simulation video game developed by Maxis and The Sims Studio and published by Electronic Arts. The Sims 4 was originally announced on May 6, 2013, and was released in North America on September 2, 2014 for Microsoft Windows. A Mac compatible version of the software was made available for digital download on February 17, 2015. There are currently no plans for a console release. The Sims 4 is the first PC game to top all-format charts in two years and sold 408,150 copies worldwide in the first four days. As of November the game has sold over 1.10 million copies worldwide. The game has received mixed reviews since its release. The game has the same concept as its predecessor, The Sims 3. Players control their Sims in various activities and form relationships. The game, like the rest of the series, does not have a defined final goal; gameplay is nonlinear. The Create-a-Sim and Build Mode tools have been redesigned to allow more versatility when creating game content. Emotional state plays a larger role in gameplay than in previous games in the series, with effects on social interaction, user interface, and personality.
  • Cities: Skylines
    5

    Cities: Skylines

    2015
    86 votes
    • Developer: Colossal Order
    • Genres (Video game): City-building, construction and management simulation
    Cities: Skylines is a city-building game developed by Colossal Order and published by Paradox Interactive. The game is a single-player open-ended city-building simulation. Players engage in urban planning by controlling zoning, road placement, taxation, public services, and public transportation of an area. Players work to maintain various elements of the city, including its budget, health, employment, and pollution levels. Players are also able to maintain a city in a sandbox mode, which provides unrestricted creative freedom for the player. The game has also had official expansion packs released for it. The game was first released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux in March 2015, with ports by Tantalus Media for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 being released in 2017.
  • Tropico 6
    6

    Tropico 6

    2019
    37 votes
    • Developer: Limbic Entertainment
    • Genres (Video game): Construction and management simulation, government simulation
    Tropico 6 is a construction, management and political simulation game in the Tropico series, developed by Limbic Entertainment, published by Kalypso Media. As in the other games in the series, the player assumes the role of "El Presidente", the leader of the Caribbean island nation of Tropico. Similarly to Tropico 5, there are four eras: The Colonial era, the World Wars era, the Cold War era, and the modern era. Unlike previous games in the series, where Tropico consisted of only one island, Tropico 6 allows players to build on an archipelago of smaller islands, allowing players to build bridges (in the World Wars era and later) from their starting island to the other islands in the chain.