Best Programming Games on Steam
Steam currently has 445 Programming games available to download and play. Explore our list of the best picks ranked by Player Score. Our Player Score rankings are calculated directly from reviews left on the Steam store and will be updated in real-time as more players leave their feedback. Programming game rankings were last updated on 3/6/2024.
Looking for more? Explore other lists such as:
- Free programming games on Steam
- Best programming Steam Deck games
- Best programming Linux games on Steam
- Best programming Steam games for Mac OS
- Free Steam games
- Most played Steam games
- Best rated Steam games
1. Baba Is You
Baba Is You is a puzzle game where the rules you have to follow are present as blocks you can interact with. By manipulating them, you can change how the game works, repurpose things you find in the levels and cause surprising interactions!
Baba Is You holds the #1 spot for "best Programming game on Steam" with a Player Score of 95. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 19,749 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 19,328 positive reviews and 421 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $14.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Steam Price | $14.99 |
| Release Date | 3/13/2019 |
| Developer | Hempuli Oy |
| Publisher | Hempuli Oy |
| Steam App Id | 736260 |
2. Opus Magnum
Opus Magnum is the latest open-ended puzzle game from Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem, Infinifactory, and SHENZHEN I/O. Design and build machines that assemble potions, poisons, and more using the alchemical engineer’s most advanced tool: the transmutation engine!
Opus Magnum has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #2 spot for the best Programming games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 5,567 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 5,430 positive reviews and 137 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $19.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Opus Magnum on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Steam Price | $19.99 |
| Release Date | 12/7/2017 |
| Franchise | Zachtronics |
| Developer | Zachtronics |
| Publisher | Zachtronics |
| Steam App Id | 558990 |
3. TIS-100
TIS-100 is an open-ended programming game by Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem and Infinifactory, in which you rewrite corrupted code segments to repair the TIS-100 and unlock its secrets. It’s the assembly language programming game you never asked for!
TIS-100 has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #3 spot for the best Programming games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 3,732 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 3,611 positive reviews and 121 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $6.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run TIS-100 on the Steam Deck.
| Steam Price | $6.99 |
| Release Date | 7/20/2015 |
| Developer | Zachtronics |
| Publisher | Zachtronics |
| Steam App Id | 370360 |
4. Godot Engine
Godot Engine is a feature-packed, cross-platform game engine to create 2D and 3D games from a unified interface. It provides a comprehensive set of common tools, so that you can focus on making games without having to reinvent the wheel.
Godot Engine has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #4 spot for the best Programming games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 4,289 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 4,128 positive reviews and 161 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is completely free to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run Godot Engine on the Steam Deck.
| Release Date | 2/24/2016 |
| Developer | Godot Engine |
| Publisher | Godot Engine |
| Steam App Id | 404790 |
5. Turing Complete
Learn CPU architecture with puzzles
Turing Complete has achieved a Player Score of 92, placing it in the #5 spot for the best Programming games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 2,726 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 2,620 positive reviews and 106 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $19.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Turing Complete on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
6. Bitburner
Bitburner is a programming-based incremental game. Write scripts in JavaScript to automate gameplay, learn skills, play minigames, solve puzzles, and more in this cyberpunk text-based incremental RPG.
Bitburner has achieved a Player Score of 92, placing it in the #6 spot for the best Programming games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 5,908 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 5,615 positive reviews and 293 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is completely free to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Bitburner on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 12/10/2021 |
| Developers | |
| Publisher | Fulcrum Games |
| Steam App Id | 1812820 |
7. SHENZHEN I/O
BUILD CIRCUITS. WRITE CODE. RTFM.
SHENZHEN I/O has achieved a Player Score of 92, placing it in the #7 spot for the best Programming games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 3,901 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 3,719 positive reviews and 182 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $14.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play SHENZHEN I/O on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Steam Price | $14.99 |
| Release Date | 11/17/2016 |
| Developer | Zachtronics |
| Publisher | Zachtronics |
| Steam App Id | 504210 |
8. Hacknet
Hacknet is an immersive, terminal-based hacking simulator for PC. Dive down a rabbit hoIe as you follow the instructions of a recently deceased hacker, whose death may not have been the accident the media reports.
Hacknet has achieved a Player Score of 91, placing it in the #8 spot for the best Programming games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 24,012 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 22,467 positive reviews and 1,545 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $9.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run Hacknet on the Steam Deck.
| Steam Price | $9.99 |
| Release Date | 8/12/2015 |
| Developer | Team Fractal Alligator |
| Publisher | Fellow Traveller |
| Steam App Id | 365450 |
9. Software Inc.
Construct and design buildings for optimal working conditions. Hire people to design and release software, so you can defeat the simulated competition and take over their businesses. Manage and educate your employees to make sure they are skilled and satisfied with their job.
Software Inc. has achieved a Player Score of 91, placing it in the #9 spot for the best Programming games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 6,629 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 6,255 positive reviews and 374 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $22.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Software Inc. on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Steam Price | $22.99 |
| Release Date | 5/1/2015 |
| Developer | Coredumping |
| Publisher | Coredumping |
| Steam App Id | 362620 |
10. RPG Maker VX Ace
RPG Maker VX Ace improves on every aspect of creating your very own epic adventure. An extremely powerful editor, Ace supports multiple tilesets, offers full control over autoshadow and has a very flexible features system.
RPG Maker VX Ace has achieved a Player Score of 91, placing it in the #10 spot for the best Programming games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 4,430 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 4,175 positive reviews and 255 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $69.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run RPG Maker VX Ace on the Steam Deck.
| Steam Price | $69.99 |
| Release Date | 12/10/2012 |
| Developers | |
| Publisher | Gotcha Gotcha Games |
| Steam App Id | 220700 |
More Programming Games
Explore even more rankings for the 100 best Programming games available on Steam.
| Image | Name | Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 140 | 3/13/2019 | 95 | $14.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 39 | 12/7/2017 | 94 | $19.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 19 | 7/20/2015 | 93 | $6.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 398 | 2/24/2016 | 93 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 96 | 10/2/2021 | 92 | $19.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 489 | 12/10/2021 | 92 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 38 | 11/17/2016 | 92 | $14.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 25 | 8/12/2015 | 91 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 163 | 5/1/2015 | 91 | $22.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 142 | 12/10/2012 | 91 | $69.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 105 | 5/31/2023 | 91 | $24.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 14 | 6/30/2015 | 91 | $24.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 7 | 10/15/2015 | 90 | $14.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 1 | 5/7/2020 | 90 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 8 | 10/22/2018 | 90 | $19.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 1 | 2/22/2017 | 90 | $3.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 2 | 6/10/2022 | 90 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 7 | 3/29/2022 | 90 | $4.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 13 | 6/4/2023 | 89 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
 | 23 | 8/23/2018 | 89 | $14.99 | Steam Charts |
Soures & References
Steambase has best-in-class data powered directly by Steam, our data partners, and in-house experts. Reviews and rankings are enriched, analyzed, and updated in real-time to ensure we surface the most up-to-date insights. Learn more about the Steambase approach to data collection and our review methodology.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, March 6). Steam Store. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, March 6). Baba Is You on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, April 26). Opus Magnum on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, April 29). TIS-100 on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 7). Godot Engine on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, April 30). Turing Complete on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 5). Bitburner on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, March 22). SHENZHEN I/O on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, March 29). Hacknet on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 3). Software Inc. on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, May 5). RPG Maker VX Ace on Steam. Steam Store.