Best Value Simulation Games Under $40
The Simulation games on Steam games under $40 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.
All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG
By price
Price divided by median reviewer playtime — how much you pay per hour of gameplay. Lower is better. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
- 1BidKing$0.01/1hr200h48.02%32.54%
- 2Ropuka's Idle Island$0.02/1hr153h88.03%95.19%
- 3Cookie Clicker$0.02/1hr123h95.33%96.41%
- 4Naval Action$0.02/1hr184h65.25%51.81%
- 5Dragon Cliff$0.03/1hr78h86.73%88.61%
- 6The NOexistenceN of Lilith$0.03/1hr58h86.92%98.07%
- 7Motorsport Manager$0.03/1hr120h89.00%91.68%
- 8Oxygen Not Included$0.04/1hr184h95.97%96.72%
- 9Elite Dangerous$0.04/1hr146h77.96%77.29%
- 10RollerCoaster Tycoon: Deluxe$0.05/1hr33h89.33%94.31%
- 11The Guild II Renaissance$0.05/1hr55h84.68%83.51%
- 12shapez$0.05/1hr21h91.78%95.91%
- 13Avorion$0.05/1hr177h87.67%90.01%
- 14Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion$0.05/1hr123h90.14%93.17%
- 15Don't Starve Together$0.05/1hr102h94.78%94.90%
- 16Spirit City: Lofi Sessions$0.05/1hr94h92.62%97.58%
- 17Hearts of Iron IV$0.05/1hr282h89.78%89.83%
- 18theHunter: Call of the Wild$0.06/1hr35h89.03%89.07%
- 19Europa Universalis IV$0.06/1hr86h83.29%83.16%
- 20Empyrion - Galactic Survival$0.06/1hr103h79.91%78.37%
- 21Stronghold Crusader HD (2012)$0.06/1hr34h93.72%97.48%
- 22Rusty's Retirement$0.06/1hr72h91.97%96.70%
- 23X4: Foundations$0.06/1hr164h81.23%79.92%
- 24Euro Truck Simulator 2$0.06/1hr81h97.35%97.44%
- 25Touhou Mystia's Izakaya$0.06/1hr49h95.44%98.56%
- 26Old World$0.06/1hr62h84.44%82.51%
- 27Stellaris$0.07/1hr221h85.87%85.76%
- 28Space Engineers$0.07/1hr145h88.56%88.81%
- 29Tiny Pasture$0.07/1hr58h88.39%92.48%
- 30MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries$0.07/1hr107h84.59%84.80%
- 31DSX$0.07/1hr57h77.31%69.45%
- 32Drug Dealer Simulator$0.07/1hr27h85.54%86.15%
- 33People Playground$0.07/1hr137h97.40%97.69%
- 34Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront$0.08/1hr116h85.21%85.22%
- 35Rise of Nations: Extended Edition$0.08/1hr63h91.01%94.68%
- 36Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator$0.08/1hr57h84.16%83.77%
- 37Rising Storm 2: Vietnam$0.08/1hr31h86.77%87.04%
- 38Chill Pulse$0.08/1hr46h87.90%95.43%
- 39rFactor 2$0.08/1hr56h82.05%78.66%
- 40Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition$0.08/1hr36h93.37%94.90%
- 41Stardew Valley$0.08/1hr127h98.38%98.48%
- 42My Time at Portia$0.08/1hr72h90.31%91.46%
- 43The Lost Village$0.08/1hr72h81.84%71.20%
- 44Mechabellum$0.09/1hr103h84.20%83.70%
- 45Car Mechanic Simulator 2021$0.09/1hr33h93.56%95.72%
- 46Kingdom Two Crowns$0.09/1hr22h89.18%90.18%
- 47RimWorld$0.09/1hr298h97.47%97.85%
- 48Stronghold HD (2012)$0.10/1hr12h90.76%95.53%
- 497 Days to Die$0.10/1hr257h87.01%86.98%
- 50FTL: Faster Than Light$0.10/1hr31h93.97%95.08%
- 51Two Point Campus$0.10/1hr31h86.38%87.84%
- 52Rocksmith 2014 Edition REMASTERED LEARN & PLAY$0.10/1hr31h87.17%87.96%
- 53Arma 3$0.10/1hr77h90.34%90.41%
- 54Bakery Simulator$0.10/1hr11h80.71%66.20%
- 55Frostpunk$0.10/1hr30h92.23%92.74%
- 56Garry's Mod$0.10/1hr50h96.81%96.88%
- 57This War of Mine$0.10/1hr20h93.03%93.83%
- 58Kenshi$0.10/1hr118h94.77%95.59%
- 59Tank Mechanic Simulator$0.10/1hr19h85.87%87.58%
- 60Project Zomboid$0.10/1hr162h93.64%93.75%
- 61Chillquarium$0.10/1hr29h88.14%92.04%
- 62HuniePop$0.10/1hr19h93.08%95.57%
- 63Cruelty Squad$0.11/1hr19h92.93%96.02%
- 64Crusader Kings III$0.11/1hr142h88.04%88.24%
- 65Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation$0.11/1hr79h92.89%94.24%
- 66Placid Plastic Duck Simulator$0.11/1hr9h93.47%97.57%
- 67American Truck Simulator$0.11/1hr45h96.50%96.92%
- 68Eco$0.11/1hr204h82.55%80.69%
- 69Against the Storm$0.11/1hr82h92.49%94.44%
- 70Men of War: Assault Squad 2$0.11/1hr54h90.16%91.23%
- 71Mr. Prepper$0.11/1hr27h83.21%80.01%
- 72Noita$0.11/1hr72h94.12%95.12%
- 73Don't Starve$0.11/1hr22h95.62%96.54%
- 74Gold Mining Simulator$0.11/1hr32h76.95%72.50%
- 75Space Haven$0.11/1hr89h85.49%85.76%
- 76ANEURISM IV$0.11/1hr44h80.74%75.15%
- 77Battle Brothers$0.11/1hr78h87.32%88.06%
- 78Ultimate Fishing Simulator$0.12/1hr10h87.07%89.14%
- 79Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic$0.12/1hr86h89.58%91.18%
- 80Ultimate General: Civil War$0.12/1hr103h86.87%88.83%
- 81Disney Dreamlight Valley$0.12/1hr201h90.16%92.16%
- 82SpaceCraft$0.12/1hr165h79.86%63.87%
- 83My Time at Sandrock$0.12/1hr100h87.39%88.14%
- 84Graveyard Keeper$0.12/1hr41h85.28%85.30%
- 85Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad with Rising Storm$0.12/1hr24h91.05%92.59%
- 86Craft The World$0.12/1hr38h87.43%88.40%
- 87Dyson Sphere Program$0.12/1hr129h96.21%97.42%
- 88Car Mechanic Simulator 2018$0.12/1hr13h89.99%90.84%
- 89Card Survival: Tropical Island$0.13/1hr100h86.78%94.97%
- 90Airport CEO$0.13/1hr50h84.21%83.05%
- 91Age of History 3$0.13/1hr31h85.06%84.99%
- 92Conan Exiles Enhanced$0.13/1hr155h79.53%79.05%
- 93SKYHILL$0.13/1hr8h82.66%78.30%
- 94Green Hell$0.13/1hr19h84.66%84.61%
- 95Thief Simulator$0.13/1hr13h87.52%88.10%
- 96Trailmakers$0.13/1hr56h90.67%92.06%
- 97Call to Arms$0.14/1hr28h81.03%79.31%
- 98Immortal Life$0.14/1hr44h83.84%79.39%
- 99Survivalist: Invisible Strain$0.14/1hr43h85.62%86.59%
- 100Hacknet$0.14/1hr11h91.22%93.53%
How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.