The daunting task of reviving classic management sims

Spacebase Startopia

Spacebase Startopia captivates with its original mixture of economic simulation and empire building strategy paired with classic RTS skirmishes and a good dose of humor.

Over the next few days, both Spacebase Startopia and Evil Genius 2: World Domination arrive. The first is a spiritual successor to Startopia, the 2001 management sim about looking after space stations for alien travellers. The second is a sequel to 2004's Evil Genius, another management sim where you get to play a Bond-esque villain taking over the world. It's a brilliant coincidence these games have bagged themselves release dates within a week of each other, and speaks to the resurgence of management games over the last couple of years.

To find out a little more about this trend, I wrangled the developers from both Rebellion and Realmforge Studios into a big voice call to ask them, and find out what it's like to revive a popular sim from the noughties.

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