Idle Startup (2026)

Developer: Merrill Lines
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Genres: Casual, Indie, Simulation, Free To Play
Rating: 2.9 of 5, 328 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 13 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A laid-back game of watching progress bars fill and numbers rise as you grow a virtual startup from scratch.

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What players say

Players overwhelmingly call this an AI-made, barebones idle game with very little content and no mid or late game. Microtransactions for speed boosts feel predatory given how unfinished it is, and the prestige system actually punishes progress by scaling requirements up. A few players enjoy watching numbers increase, but most say they finished everything in under 12 hours.

Screenshots

More games like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.