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Idle tycoon games: build an empire that runs itself
Short answer: AdVenture Capitalist is the classic idle tycoon game, Egg, Inc. and Idle Miner Tycoon are the ones for your phone, and Garbage Growth builds a fortune from trash. Below: 11 idle tycoon games, what each lets you build and its Steam rating.
Updated October 18, 2026 · Steam ratings checked the same day · By the Garbage Growth team
Quick answer
| If you want | Play | On Steam |
|---|---|---|
| The classic | AdVenture Capitalist | Very Positive · 60,481 Steam reviews |
| On your phone | Egg, Inc. | Not on Steam |
| A mining empire | Idle Miner Tycoon | Not on Steam |
| A trash empire | Garbage GrowthOur game | Very Positive · 389 Steam reviews |
| A cookie empire | Cookie Clicker | Overwhelmingly Positive · 94,064 Steam reviews |
| A calm business | Chillquarium | Very Positive · 8,460 Steam reviews |
What is an idle tycoon game?
An idle tycoon game mixes two genres: the tycoon game, where you build and run a business, and the idle game, where it keeps earning while you are away. You buy shops, farms or machines, hire managers or helpers, and reinvest everything to grow faster.
The best idle tycoon games
#1 AdVenture Capitalist
In its own words, arguably the world’s greatest capitalism simulator. Start with a lemonade stand, buy more businesses, hire managers to run them and keep earning while you are away. Free on Steam.
Best for: the classic business idle game
See it on Steam ↗#2 Cookie Clicker
A cookie empire: grandmas, farms, factories and banks that bake for you, until the numbers get absurd.
Best for: the most famous idle game
See it on Steam ↗#3 (the) Gnorp Apologue
Guide the gnorps toward “delightfully excessive wealth accumulation” with a growing set of strange machines.
Best for: an odd, artistic take on getting rich
See it on Steam ↗#4 Chillquarium
Buy fish, raise them in real time, sell them, and grow a starter tank into your dream aquarium.
Best for: a calm little business
See it on Steam ↗#5 Rusty's Retirement
A small farm at the bottom of your screen: crops get planted and harvested while you work, and you expand it now and then.
Best for: a farm that runs beside your work
See it on Steam ↗#6 AdVenture Communist
From Hyper Hippo, the team behind AdVenture Capitalist: in its own words, the world’s greatest communism simulator. Free to play on Steam, in Early Access.
Best for: AdVenture Capitalist fans
See it on Steam ↗#7 Idle Factory
Build an industrial empire while you are idle: factories that keep producing on their own.
Best for: factory builders
See it on Steam ↗Idle tycoon games on mobile
Egg, Inc.
Build the most profitable egg farm in a future where eggs unlock the secrets of the universe.
Best for: iOS and Android
Official site ↗Idle Miner Tycoon
Build your own mining business and grow it into an empire. Free with in-app purchases.
Best for: iOS and Android
Official site ↗Idle tycoon games in your browser
Idle Startup Tycoon
Start with a programmer, an engineer and a salesperson, then hire managers and add floors to make as much money as you can. Played in the browser on Coolmath Games.
Best for: a quick business game, nothing to install
Official site ↗How we picked
This guide is written by the team behind Garbage Growth, an idle / incremental game on Steam. We kept games that:
- Steam players rate well (official Steam review summary, checked on October 18, 2026);
- you can still get today, on Steam or in the browser;
- each bring something different, so the list is not ten copies of the same game.
Garbage Growth is our game. When it appears in a list it is marked Our game, and you can check its Steam reviews yourself. No studio paid to be on this page.
Questions
What is the best idle tycoon game?
AdVenture Capitalist is the classic (Very Positive on Steam, 60,481 reviews), and it is free to play on Steam. On mobile, Egg, Inc.
Are there free idle tycoon games?
Yes: AdVenture Capitalist and AdVenture Communist are free to play on Steam, and Egg, Inc. and Idle Miner Tycoon are free on mobile. In the browser, Idle Startup Tycoon is on Coolmath Games.
Is Garbage Growth a tycoon game?
It is an idle / incremental game where you build a fortune from trash: you sell what you collect, hire rats and grow your pollution. It is made by the team behind this page.
What games are like AdVenture Capitalist?
See our list of games like AdVenture Capitalist.
Looking for a new idle game?
Garbage Growth: pick up people’s trash, hire rats, pollute everything and become a quintillionaire.
- No slow start, no grind. It is fun from the very first minute.
- Every upgrade makes it worse. In the best possible way.
- Play active or let it idle. Your rats keep working.
- Updates keep coming. Two areas today, the Moon is next.