Tropico 5 releases on May 23, Kalypso plans "extensive" SteamOS version

Bribes, drug trafficking, manipulating the media, and politics. They're all equally legitimate and useful governing tools in the banana-republic-themed Tropico games. Tropico 5 looks like it will be the most ambitious game in the series, and not just because it's way prettier and has the highest number in its title. For the first time in the series, It's adding multiple eras, with players taking El Presidente from the colonial 19th century, through to the future. We'll find out if that's a big enough addition to mix up the formula when it's released on May 23.

Our review of Tropico 4 found that it was remarkably entertaining, but that it failed to add much to the formula set in previous games in the series. If all goes well, Tropico 5's new eras, a dynasty system that allows you to preserve El Presidente's dynasty, and all new art will help make it worth revisiting.

Kalypso also announced that it will publish an “extensive” SteamOS version of the game, available whenever those Steam Machines hit store shelves. “Extensive” is pretty vague, but I'm hoping it means the presentation is optimized for the TV with a bigger UI, and its controls are optimized for the Steam Controller (which Evan is not impressed with ).

If you want to learn more about how these era fit into Tropico 5, Tom gives you a pretty good idea in his first look at the game .

Latest in Sim
Truckin' in the rain.
American Truck Simulator’s latest teaser is just a sound effect and no one seems to agree on what exactly it means
PowerWash Simulator 2 screenshots
'More evolution than revolution': PowerWash Simulator 2 is coming late 2025, and it's bringing online multiplayer and split-screen co-op with it
A child stands on top of a dinosaur exhibit, hugging the nose of a dinosaur skull.
As a real life museum employee, I'm a bit confused by the amount of pirate ghosts in Two Point Museum—but it's not going to stop me trying to make the most realistic exhibits I can
A citizen of a city
A lot is going on for Cities: Skylines' 10th anniversary—from freebies to new creator packs—but there's still a big ol' elephant in the room
Staring eyes in a face covered in oil
Death Stranding 2's PS5 release date is in June, let's hope it doesn't take 8 months to hit PC this time
Cities: Skylines 2 screenshot - street level at night
Cities: Skylines 2's asset editor remains a distant dream: Colossal Order is still working on it but says it's 'proven more technically challenging than initially anticipated'
Latest in News
Union organizers and game developers gather at GDC 2025.
Game dev union marches through industry event to demonstrate that it's about 'taking action and organizing change'
The jester from Balatro, portrayed in unsettling detail in real life, wears an uncanny smile and stares at the viewer.
Balatro's LocalThunk isn't 'trying to pull a Banksy', he just 'wanted to be left alone to make his game'
Two characters from Warframe 1999 lounging in a bar.
The warframe with a guitar that shoots fire is out today alongside a bunch of metalcore-inspired skins, cementing Warframe's spiral into Y2K madness
A Minecraft movie promo image of the main cast standing side by side,
This is why the Minecraft movie is called A Minecraft Movie
helldivers 2 democratic detonation
Johan Pilestedt warns that Helldivers 2 took 4 more years than planned because Arrowhead skipped pre-production and dove right in: 'Always do your homework before you start spending millions and millions and millions of dollars in making a game'
helldivers 2 arrowhead CCO johan pilestedt
Helldivers 2's Johan Pilestedt says developers need to start taking more risks: 'Safe bets are a death sentence for the studios that try to make them'