Project Highrise

Project Highrise is a 2D PC skyscraper construction and management simulation from SomaSim, published by Kasedo Games. Steam and Epic Games Store currently list it under the original Project Highrise name; there is no verified PC rebrand or replacement edition. The separate Architect’s Edition branding is associated with the console package rather than the current PC storefront listing.

The game focuses on one building instead of an entire city. You design the tower, connect its services, attract tenants, control operating costs, and turn a partially occupied structure into a profitable vertical community.

Build Upward, Then Make the Numbers Work

Project Highrise uses a readable 2D side-on perspective that keeps every floor visible while you plan rooms, corridors, elevators, stairs, service connections, and decorative elements. Construction is only the first layer. A tower that looks impressive can still fail if its rent income cannot cover staffing, utilities, maintenance, and expansion.

The central loop is straightforward but demanding: spend capital on new floors and facilities, bring in tenants, satisfy their requirements, collect rent, and reinvest the surplus. Commercial and residential occupants do not simply fill empty rooms. They evaluate access, nearby services, noise, visitor traffic, floor position, and the overall quality of the building.

Different tenants create different planning problems. Offices need practical working conditions, apartments depend on residential services, while shops and restaurants benefit from a steady flow of visitors. A mixed-use tower can generate several income streams, but it also creates more competing demands than a building dedicated to one purpose.

Infrastructure is part of the puzzle. You must route electricity, water, gas, phone service, and other utilities through the structure while making room for elevators, stairs, restrooms, maintenance areas, and support facilities. The tower becomes more efficient when services are positioned carefully instead of being added wherever space remains.

Tenants, Traffic, and Vertical Logistics

Tenant satisfaction is not a decorative statistic. Unhappy occupants may pay less, perform poorly, or leave, reducing both revenue and the reputation of the building. The most profitable room is not always the best next purchase if the tower lacks the services or access needed to keep it occupied.

Elevators and stairs provide the basic movement network between floors. Their role is easier to understand than a detailed elevator-routing simulator, but placement still affects convenience, traffic flow, and the practical value of distant rooms. Entrances, lobbies, retail areas, and public facilities also shape how visitors move through the building.

Public-facing tenants can benefit from better foot traffic, advertising, and transport access. Residential occupants place more emphasis on comfort and useful amenities. Offices can demand reliable services and suitable surroundings. The result is a management game where zoning decisions are driven by tenant profiles rather than by a simple upgrade ladder.

The game also supports consultants who can improve areas such as curb appeal, operating efficiency, or relations with city hall. These specialists add another economic choice: paying for an immediate advantage can accelerate growth, but their cost must be justified by the building’s current income.

Scenarios, Sandbox, and Unlimited Construction

Project Highrise offers a structured campaign built around challenging scenarios as well as open-ended sandbox play. Scenarios impose specific goals or restrictions, asking you to adapt your construction plan instead of relying on one universal tower design.

Scenario conditions can change the balance of the game through limits on height, tenant categories, available space, or the type of building you are expected to create. These constraints make the mode useful for learning the systems because each challenge emphasizes a different part of the economic and construction model.

Sandbox mode gives you more control over starting conditions, difficulty, and the type of tower you want to pursue. You can specialize in offices, apartments, retail, hospitality, or a combination of several functions. The freedom is most useful after you understand how services and tenant requirements interact.

An Unlimited Mode update expanded the game’s creative side for players who prefer experimentation over strict financial pressure. That makes the sandbox a good fit for architectural layouts, unusual floor plans, rooftop projects, skybridges, and long-form tower development.

Base Game and Optional Content

The PC base game is a paid single-player title. The current Steam listing presents five optional DLC packs: Las Vegas, Miami Malls, Tokyo Towers, London Life, and Brilliant Berlin.

Each add-on expands the game with themed scenarios, tenants, visual content, or building-focused challenges. Las Vegas emphasizes casino-style development, Miami Malls focuses on retail complexes, Tokyo Towers adds a distinct urban theme, London Life centers on offices, and Brilliant Berlin provides another regional building identity.

The DLC is not required to understand the core management loop. The base game already includes the main construction systems, tenant economy, campaign scenarios, sandbox play, utility planning, and consultant mechanics. The add-ons are most relevant to players who want more themed objectives and additional tenant or decoration options.

Steam also lists a bundle containing the base game and all five DLC packs. This is the clearest current PC content structure: one paid base game with separately available expansions and a complete-content bundle.

PC Features and Mod Support

The Steam version is listed as single-player and includes Steam Achievements, Trading Cards, Steam Cloud, Family Sharing, and Steam Workshop. Workshop support is particularly important because community creations can add furniture, decorations, utilities, and new tenant types.

Project Highrise does not present native online multiplayer, competitive play, or cooperative tower management. Steam Remote Play is not listed among the current storefront features. Players should therefore approach it as a solo planning and optimization game rather than a shared construction experience.

The storefront lists interface localization for English, French, Italian, German, Spanish from Spain, Russian, Polish, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese. Full voice audio is not listed, so the PC version is primarily a text-driven management experience.

Steam identifies a third-party EULA but does not advertise a separate anti-cheat system or dedicated launcher beyond the storefront client. It also does not list official full controller support, making keyboard and mouse the safer assumption for precise construction and management.

Who Project Highrise Suits

Project Highrise is a strong fit for players who enjoy economic management, compact building layouts, tenant optimization, and gradual expansion. It rewards people who like checking requirements, planning several floors ahead, and solving problems through better placement rather than direct control of individual characters.

The game is also a good choice for players who prefer readable 2D interfaces over large three-dimensional city builders. Its focus is narrow by design: you are not managing highways, suburbs, regional politics, or an entire municipal network. You are making one vertical structure work.

It may be a poor match if you want conventional multiplayer, detailed elevator simulation, freeform 3D architecture, or a story-led campaign. The strongest challenge comes from economic balance and tenant satisfaction, not from combat, exploration, or character progression.

Players who enjoy industrial planning can compare its infrastructure-focused management with resource-network strategy games such as Automation Empire, although Project Highrise replaces factories and production chains with tenants, services, and rentable floor space.

Similar PC Management Games

The closest historical comparison is SimTower, since both games center on building and operating a vertical structure. Project Highrise is more focused on tenant selection, utilities, rent, and commercial development, while the older game is remembered for more detailed elevator management.

Prison Architect shares the broader loop of laying out a facility, connecting services, managing occupants, and keeping an operating budget under control, but its security systems and inmate behavior create a much harsher management environment.

For players who want a broader settlement builder rather than a single tower, compact city-building sandboxes like Kingdoms and Castles offer a useful contrast: they spread planning across roads, housing, resources, and defenses instead of stacking the entire economy vertically.

These comparisons clarify Project Highrise’s identity. It is not a conventional city builder and not a pure architecture toy. Its niche is the intersection of construction, business simulation, and tenant logistics inside one evolving high-rise.

Project Highrise FAQ

Is Project Highrise still sold under its original PC name?

Yes. The current Steam and Epic Games Store listings use Project Highrise. No verified PC rebrand or replacement edition was found. Architect’s Edition refers to the broader console package rather than the current PC storefront name.

Is Project Highrise multiplayer or co-op on PC?

No native online multiplayer, competitive mode, or cooperative tower-management mode is listed. The PC experience is designed for single-player construction, economic planning, scenarios, and sandbox development.

What is included in the Project Highrise base game?

The base game includes the main skyscraper construction systems, tenant management, utilities, consultants, campaign scenarios, sandbox play, difficulty options, and the core economic progression loop. Five optional DLC packs expand the themed content.

Does Project Highrise support mods?

Yes. The Steam version includes Steam Workshop support. Community content can add decorations, furniture, utilities, and tenant-related additions, giving the PC version more flexibility than the built-in scenarios alone.

Does Project Highrise have controller support?

The current Steam listing does not identify official full controller support. Keyboard and mouse should be treated as the intended input method for placing floors, connecting services, reviewing tenant demands, and managing the tower’s finances.

What type of gameplay does Project Highrise offer?

It is a single-player construction and management simulation built around tenant needs, utility networks, rent income, traffic flow, and controlled expansion. Scenarios provide structured goals, while sandbox and unlimited-style play support longer architectural experiments.