Idle Startup

An idle business simulator with skill upgrades and company resets

Merrill Lines · Released Jun 21, 2026

Reviews: Mixed; 60% of 367
Recent reviews: Mostly Positive; 70% of 24 in 30 days
Players: 58; daily peak, Oct 28, 2026
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update on Steam: 4 weeks ago; Sep 30, 2026
Minimum PC: HD 4000; 2 GB RAM · 0.2 GB disk; Full requirements

What is Idle Startup?

You grow a garage startup into a tech company in this free-to-play, single-player management game. Select among six skills to earn money and experience, then buy upgrades and unlock departments. You can cash out to restart with permanent bonuses, automate tasks, and keep earning while the game is closed.

For you if...

+you prefer a relaxed pace without constant clicking

Not for you if...

−you want complex choices that lead to different strategies

What players say

60% of 367 reviews are positive · 70% of 24 in the last 30 days

Players praise achievement hunting, but commonly describe the content as short and repetitive. Some also object to paid boosts and the long playtime requirement for an achievement.

Screenshots and trailer

Idle Startup system requirements

Minimum: HD 4000, 2 GB RAM, 0.2 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run Idle Startup?

Tell us your graphics card once and every game page will answer this for you.

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Minimum

OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
Processor: Dual-core 1.6 GHz
Graphics: Any GPU with OpenGL 3.3 (Intel HD 4000 era and up)
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Storage: 250 MB available space
Notes: 1280×720 minimum window size

Does Idle Startup have co-op or multiplayer?

No: single-player only, no multiplayer modes declared.

Single-player

Does Idle Startup run on Steam Deck?

Playable Playable: it runs on Steam Deck with some adjustments.

Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
Some in-game text is small and may be hard to read
All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

PC version details

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Keyboard and mouse
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Achievements: 65
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing, In-app purchases
Languages: Text only: English.

Does Idle Startup use AI-generated content?

Yes. The developers disclose AI-generated content on the game's Steam page:

Idle Startup is made by a solo developer with the help of generative AI. The milestone background artwork — the illustrations that unlock as each skill levels up — is generated with AI image tools and then selected and curated by the developer. The game's code is also written with the assistance of AI coding tools. All music and sound effects are generated procedurally in code, the interface art and icons are hand-drawn, and all in-game text is written by the developer.

The statement mentions: ArtCode

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Oct 27, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam