Job simulation game
Job simulation game, also known as job simulator or job sim, is a genre of simulation video games revolving around doing mundane, often blue-collar tasks such as farming, driving and delivering packages, as opposed to the more high-level management found in business simulation games. While job simulation games existed for years in a more niche respect, the genre gained a higher profile following the 2019 release of post-apocalyptic delivery sim Death Stranding, an unusual AAA example that was critically praised. The 2020s saw an explosion of job simulation indie games, many overlapping with the cozy game genre. Many players of job simulators desire to vicariously experience the most satisfying aspects of jobs they do not have, or varied scenarios in jobs they do have.
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Job simulation game, also known as job simulator or job sim, is a genre of simulation video games revolving around doing mundane, often blue-collar tasks such as farming, driving and delivering packages, as opposed to the more high-level management found in business simulation games. While job simulation games existed for years in a more niche respect, the genre gained a higher profile following the 2019 release of post-apocalyptic delivery sim Death Stranding, an unusual AAA example that was critically praised. The 2020s saw an explosion of job simulation indie games, many overlapping with the cozy game genre. Many players of job simulators desire to vicariously experience the most satisfying aspects of jobs they do not have, or varied scenarios in jobs they do have.[1]
Examples
[edit]House Flipper, a game about the real estate practice of house flipping, released in 2018. SnowRunner, a "painstakingly authentic off-road delivery simulator", released in 2020.[2] 2022 saw the releases of Hardspace: Shipbreaker, a hard sci-fi video game about being a starship shipbreaker for the evil corporation Lynx, and PowerWash Simulator, a simulation game about a powerwashing job, which saw breakout success.[3] In 2025, Cabin Crew Life Simulator earned its developers over US$100,000.[4]
The subgenre of delivery games has players transporting objects or packages from one location to another. These include Lake (2021), American Truck Simulator (2016), and the Death Stranding games.[5]
Fans may also mod otherwise combat-focused games into job simulators. Modder Shtivi created a job mod for the open-world third-person shooter Red Dead Redemption 2, allowing its protagonist Arthur Morgan to take various work opportunities from a job board,[6] while the medieval fantasy game Oblivion Remastered received a similar mod.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Piantini, Michael (2025-08-25). "Why Do We Like Games That Make Us Work?". GameSpot. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ^ Stuart, Keith (2020-05-25). "'Transcendentally boring': the joy of job simulation games". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ^ Potter, Aaron (2022-12-20). "Job simulators: games that find magic in the mundane". Film Stories. Archived from the original on 2025-02-07. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ^ Wood, Austin (2025-03-13). ""Success beyond expectations, earning over $100,000": This weird job sim made in a year would be torture for me, but it's changed its developer's life after "bitter failure"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ^ Wald, Heather (2025-07-15). "I'm entering my mailman era with these 5 delivery games, and Death Stranding 2 is entirely to blame". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ^ Cryer, Hirun (2023-07-04). "Red Dead Redemption 2 turns into a chill job sim thanks to this mod". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
- ^ Koselke, Anna (2026-02-03). "This Oblivion Remastered mod adds actual jobs to Bethesda's revamped RPG, just in case you're not already sick of working your 9-5 in real life". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2026-02-09.