Patryk Żurek

Hello everyone!

I am beyond thrilled to share something I’ve been working on endlessly: Big Tech Tycoon is officially out on the App Store!

If you've followed my work or chatted with me about computing history, you know how much I love the early days of personal computing: the 1975 garage startups, the 16-bit processor races, the GUI battles, and the relentless OS platform wars of the '80s and '90s.

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to design and create my own hardware/software. Be one of the tech giants myself. Be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. So I started playing management games to scratch that itch. But I quickly realized that most of them were either too shallow, too short, or too focused on a single aspect of the tech industry (like Game Dev Tycoon with just game dev).

So, as a nerd, I decided to build the game I wanted to play myself.

What is Big Tech Tycoon?

In short, it’s a simulation about building a tech giant.

You (typically) start in 1980 with a small computer startup and navigate through the personal computer boom, GUI wars, web era, mobile revolution, and beyond. You design software and hardware, engineer CPUs and GPUs, run semiconductor fabs, handle market crises, manage technical debt, and fight opinionated AI rivals who won't hesitate to capitalize on your mistakes.

I didn't want this to be a simple arcade clicker. Over the course of development, the game grew into a massive system featuring:

• 294 research nodes across software, hardware, and semiconductor fabrication.
• 660 bundled events with 1,400+ player choices, making every playthrough feel like a unique alternate history.
• 24 interconnected simulation systems handling everything from code quality and OEM adoption to developer mindshare and supply chain risks.
• A full 20-chapter in-game manual (~18,000 words) that acts as an operator's handbook for the simulation.

And most importantly: Zero ads, zero microtransactions, and zero subscriptions. You buy it once, and the full experience is yours forever.

More about the technical side

As a developer, building this was an incredible engineering journey. Since the game at first was only meant to be seen by my eyes only: I chose to build Big Tech Tycoon 100% natively in Swift + SwiftUI for iOS, iPadOS, macOS. This decision mostly came from my desire and pre-existing experience in SwiftUI. That sadly also killed the easy cross platform development path, more on that later.

Designing a complex, data-heavy simulation with deep UI states purely in SwiftUI was a terrific challenge. The result is an app that feels completely at home on Apple hardware! It supports native Dark Mode, includes full Game Center integration with 30 achievements, runs blazingly fast, and syncs across all your devices via Universal Purchase. Also iCloud save sync between devices is fully supported, so you can start your tech empire on your iPhone and continue it on your Mac.

The game engine is built entirely in Swift, with a focus on performance and maintainability. Every part of this was designed for this type of game. The simulation engine is fully laid out in a modular way, allowing me to add new features and systems without breaking existing ones. The UI is fully reactive, meaning that every change in the simulation is immediately reflected on the screen.

This is not the end of the road

I'm planning to bring this game to other platforms in the future, including Windows and Linux. Bringing a Apple platforms-first game to other ecosystems is a challenge, but I want to make sure that as many people as possible can enjoy the game. I'll be sharing more details about this in the coming months, so stay tuned! I already have a working prototype of the game running on Windows. It's very wonky, but the simulation engine does run. The problem is UI! I'll work out a solution for that, but it will take some time.

I'm also preparing a roadmap of features and expansions that I want to add, including new research trees, more events, and more scenarios. I want to make sure that Big Tech Tycoon continues to grow and evolve, and I can't wait to see how players interact with the game.

You'll soon be able to download a exclusive demo on this blog, which will allow you to try the game for free before buying it. The demo will include a limited set of features and scenarios, but it will give you a taste of what the full game has to offer.

The Journey Continues

Releasing this game as a solo student developer is a huge milestone for me, but it's only the beginning. I'm already listening to player feedback, working on balance tweaks, and planning future updates.

Whether you're a fellow developer, a computing history enthusiast, or just someone who loves a good strategy game, I hope Big Tech Tycoon brings you hours of fun (and maybe a bit of nostalgia).

You can check it out right now:

• Download on the App Store
• Join the Official Discord
• Follow the official Tumblr blog of the game

If you pick up a copy, let me know how your tech empire turns out!

Thank you all for the support,

Patryk <3