Summary
A new city-building game,Foundation, has recently rolled out on Steam to a noticeably positive reception. Having been in early access since February 2019,Foundationhad its full release on July 14, 2025.
Thanks to expertly produced long-running franchises, such as othersimulation-style games likeCivilizationandAge of Empires, the genre has kept the players immersed in its offerings for a long period. Notably, this genre boasts some of the most popular games ever released, such asThe Sims 4. Besides attracting hordes of players, many simulation games also churn out a multitude of hours of engagement, thanks to their high replay value. One prominent sub-genre within simulation is city builder, which includesCities: Skylines,Anno 1800, andManor Lords. Recently, a new indie game joined this list as a full launch, after spending an extended time in early access.
Foundationis amedieval-themed city builderfor PC, developed and published by an indie studio named Polymorph Games. It features gridless gameplay and revolves around building structures, growing the settlement, and managing its population. Some of its notable features are the ability to construct modular buildings, being able to assign jobs to villagers to create production chains, and the Creative Mode, which allows players to enjoy the game at their own pace. Since releasing less than two days ago,Foundationhas been off to a good start, with a “Mostly Positive” Steam rating. At the time of writing, Valve’s data shows that 338 positive user reviews have been posted since January 31, which is more than double the 141 negative reviews received in that period. Interestingly,Foundationhas an even better overall rating of “Very Positive,” based on all the user reviews received since it launched as an early access title.
Foundation’s Promising Reviews Come Coupled with a Big Surge in Engagement
Fortunately for Polymorph Games,Foundationis not only receiving good reviews but has also roped in a chunk ofSteam’s vast player-basesince its official release. According to the stats onSteamDB, the simulation game currently has a peak concurrent player count of 13,670, which is its highest since being listed on Valve’s storefront. This achievement appears even more remarkable, taking into account the fact thatFoundationis the Canada-based studio’s debut game.
Going overFoundation’s engagement graph over the early access period, the recurring peaks may be seen as an indication of Polymorph devs regularly listening to player feedback and improving the game based on that. In the past,several games have leveraged their early access periodand gone on to achieve strong launch performance.
Foundation
WHERE TO PLAY
Foundation is a grid-less, laidback medieval city-building game with a focus on organic development, monument construction and resource management.As the newly appointed lord or lady of a land still untouched and full of potential, you are given the opportunity to create a prosperous medieval settlement as you envision it, managing your resources and growing population, whilst being challenged by narrative events, quests and missions, from across the kingdom.From very modest beginnings, build rudimentary workplaces, extract and store resources, establish trade routes, erect majestic monuments and before long… a bustling city will emerge in your new found lands!Organic urbanism: Create gridless and organically sprawling cities that grow like medieval cities of the period. Plan the construction of various workplaces and watch as the villagers create natural paths and build their own houses. Intuitively paint zones to define areas like housing, farming, gathering and more.Thrive and prosper: Weave a complex web of interactions between inhabitants’ needs and skills, resource availability, extraction, and goods production.
