Academia : School Simulator

School management sim where you build classrooms and balance budgets

Squeaky Wheel Studio Inc · Published by Paradox Interactive · Released Jan 28, 2021

Reviews: Very Positive; 86% of 3,083
Recent reviews: Mostly Positive; 78% of 14 in 30 days
Playing now: 16; peak 24h 18
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update: 1 year ago; May 28, 2025

What is Academia : School Simulator?

A top-down high school management sim where you lay out classrooms and facilities, hire staff, and respond to students' needs for food, hygiene, and discipline. You balance the budget in normal mode or build with unlimited money in sandbox mode.

For you if...

+you enjoy designing school layouts and choosing facilities
+you like managing teachers, students, and school budgets
+you prefer casual sandbox building with unlimited funds

Not for you if...

−you want a story-driven game instead of school management
−you dislike planning facilities and handling day-to-day upkeep

What players say

86% of 3,083 reviews are positive · 78% of 14 in the last 30 days

Players praise the freedom to design schools and the relaxed pace. Common complaints center on cumbersome menus and management that becomes repetitive or too easy as a school grows.

Screenshots and trailer

Academia : School Simulator system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 7,8,8.1,10 64-bit
Processor: 2.0 GHz
Graphics: onboard
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Storage: 400 MB available space

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Keyboard and mouse
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Achievements: 140
Steam features: Workshop, Cloud saves, Family Sharing, Trading cards

Steam Deck: Playable

Some text entry requires manually opening the on-screen keyboard
All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

Multiplayer and co-op

Single-player

Languages

Text only: English, Japanese, German, Russian, French, Spanish - Spain, Simplified Chinese, Italian, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Spanish - Latin America, Thai, Turkish.