The base-building genre of video games is vast, especially considering that there are a lot of games that have building mechanics but don't focus on base-building for the majority of the game. If you have a creative idea for building a structure or settlement, then there are tons of different video games that you can use to express yourself.
Video games such as No Man's Sky and Subnautica allow you to build your own base while also offering a completely unique theme. Some base-building games don't feature any particular time period or location, including games like Terraria and Minecraft. Here are the best base-building games available.
Updated July 12, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: We get it, there are tons of base-building games out there. Because of this, we've added even more to the list. Additionally, we've removed a few that don't quite stack up against the rest.
Evil Genius
- Available On: PC
Everyone has had a fantasy of becoming the baddest supervillain to rule them all, but not everyone gets to live out this fantasy. In this sim, you can create a doomsday weapon and attempt to rule the world, but perhaps the most interesting feature for all you base-building enthusiasts is the ability to create a secret base.
Creating your evil lair won't be easy, but you'll have more than 300 items for customizing your less-than-humble abode. After creating your lair with laboratories and everything else an evil Genius could ask for, you can even train an army of minions to do your bidding.
Ranch Simulator
- Available On: PC
Ranch Simulator is the perfect game for fans of farming simulators, especially those who enjoy typical base-building. Not only will you get to build your own house and ranch using various building pieces, but you can also choose which livestock to own and work on various projects around your ranch.
Purchasing vehicles is also on your to-do list, which may help you run your ranch as you get deeper into your farming adventure. Rebuilding your family's ranch has never been so much fun; we recommend this game if you're up for the hard work required to build a successful new home.
The Wandering Village
- Available On: PC
Typically, base-building games allow you to build a home or town on a standard planet, but The Wandering Village takes things in a completely new direction by giving you the chance to build a settlement on the back of a giant animal. This creature goes by the name of Onbu, and it has everything you need to create a successful colony.
Onbu's space is more limited than most locations in settlement building games, so you'll have to optimize your village for the best possible results. While planning out the production of resources, you get to decide whether to care for Onbu alongside your townsfolk or become nothing more than its parasite.
WW2 Rebuilder
- Available On: PC
World War Two created many problems for the world and the aftermath was catastrophic in many ways, one of which was the partial destruction of notable locations around Europe. As such, rebuilding is in order, and you're just the person for the job.
Pick up a hammer and get ready to reconstruct Europe in your own image. You'll have all the tools necessary to renovate buildings that are less than habitable, and flip locations all while learning their history from the NPC civilians.
Land Of The Vikings
- Available On: PC
The Viking era is one filled with struggle and deadly conditions. Viking colonies were no picnic to keep running smoothly, as there were dozens of daily challenges that kept Vikings on their toes. You'll get to discover some of these difficulties in Land Of The Vikings, a colony builder focused on the time period of our horned-helmed warriors.
While building your hearty Viking village, you'll come face to face with many choices, such as which types of skills to invest in for your villagers. After you use the available tools to build a colony itself, you can also send your Vikings out on raids to collect resources so you can expand into an even bigger settlement.
Regions Of Ruin
- Available On: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC
If you're a fan of Terraria, then you'll likely love Regions Of Ruin. You get to explore a medieval-themed world with 2D pixel art, which is a niche genre for base-building games that doesn't get nearly enough attention. You can build entire towns in Regions Of Ruin, which allows for some expansive creations.
On top of the base-building system, there's also an extensive combat system that allows you to customize your character with a variety of stats.
Two Point Hospital
- Available On: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC
Two Point Hospital isn't quite like other games of the genre. Instead of building a base to defend against zombies or the harsh elements, you get to build hospitals and watch as they grow into something larger than they once were. You can customize your hospital in various ways, including the way it looks and how it operates.
Although Two Point Hospital isn't a typical base-building game, it's worth a try if you enjoy building things since it offers a lot of content and a unique art style.
Dragon Quest Builders 2
- Available On: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a great addition to this franchise because it adds something completely new to the series. In this adventure, you'll get to build using blocks to your heart's content with a Dragon Quest twist.
The blocky building mechanics will remind you of Minecraft, but its graphics are very different. You can even customize your character, so there's no limit to your creativity whether it be building your dream complex using tons of combinations or creating a new avatar.
The Sims 4
- Available On: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC
The Sims is a franchise that offers you the chance to lead multiple other in-game lives through virtual people. Building is far from the only activity in The Sims 4, but it's still an amazing game if you enjoy creating and customizing your home sweet home.
The Sims 4 offers you the chance to own many different houses and customize them as you see fit, so it's definitely one of the most in-depth games you can play if you enjoy building a base. What sets The Sims 4 apart from other base-building games is that it has a modern setting, so it's not medieval or post-apocalyptic like most other games of this genre.
Colony Survival
- Available On: PC
Colony Survival isn't only a base-building game, it's also a base-defense game. You can build a base and assign NPCs to certain tasks, such as farming, but eventually, monsters will come to attack, and you need to be ready to defend your creations.
Like many other base-building games, Colony Survival has a blocky theme, so it's quite familiar from the start if you enjoy the genre. If you like base-building with an end goal, then Colony Survival may scratch your itch for creativity with a touch of combat to go alongside it.
Planet Crafter
- Available On: PC
Planet Crafter is a game that fans of No Man's Sky are likely to quickly fall in love with. In this game, you journey to a new and exciting planet to make it livable for humans, which includes terraforming and creating an oxygen source.
One of the key mechanics in Planet Crafter is the ability to create your own base on the new planet. Although you won't be building medieval castles or mansions in the sky, the building options are surprisingly expansive, and coupled with everything else in this amazing space game, the base-building is a one-of-a-kind experience.
Craftopia
- Available On: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC
Craftopia will immediately remind you of many other popular games from the past decade. It takes some of the best parts of other games and attempts to combine them for a unique experience filled with base-building and a beautiful world to explore.
Not only can you collect materials and build a base for your heart's desires, but you can also explore dungeons and fight monsters. If you like games like Minecraft, then you should give Craftopia a chance, it's a game that you don't want to miss out on as a fan of the base-building genre.
Astroneer
- Available On: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC.
Astroneer takes you into space and allows you to have a base-building experience among the stars. If you've always wanted to terraform a planet, then Astroneer is the perfect game with lots of interesting mechanics.
You can explore procedurally generated environments while traversing the world in multiple ways, including a rover. However, the meat of this game is in base-building and making your new planet feel like home.
Medieval Dynasty
- Available On: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC
Medieval Dynasty is exactly what it sounds like — a game with a medieval setting where you can role-play in whatever way you wish, which often includes building new structures and even creating a village for NPCs.
Outside of the base-building aspect, there are lots of activities to partake in. You can craft new equipment, go hunting, and fight powerful animals as they try to hunt you.
Dyson Sphere Program
- Available On: PC
Dyson Sphere Program allows you to build your very own factory to supply power to a futuristic society that requires far more energy than Earth in the modern era. After gathering resources, you can build structures that efficiently generate power for the civilization.
Dyson Sphere Program may not allow you to build the biggest castle ever or feature zombies chasing you down, but building an energy-production facility is a lot of fun, especially if you like resource management games.
Oxygen Not Included
- Available On: PC
Oxygen Not Included is another space game that places you against the environment for your survival. You control a few colonists while they try to make a home for themselves on an alien planet.
Oxygen Not Included has a two-dimensional platforming aspect, similar to Terraria, which is great since that aesthetic is rare in base-building video games. For a more laid back base-building experience where you get to explore an alien planet, Oxygen Not Included has you covered.
Fortnite: Save The World
- Available On: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC
Save The World is Fortnite's primary campaign, and it's a separate mode from the battle royale. In this experience, you can build bases to defend against zombies across a variety of maps. The base-building tools you have are more basic than other games, but the excitement of defending your newly-built fort from zombies is like no other.
There are also lots of fun missions and rewards to earn, so it's a fantastic choice if you like to see your progression in front of you.
Rust
- Available On: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC
Rust is an online video game that features hardcore survival gameplay. You have to survive against many threats in the wild, but the primary threat comes from your interaction with other players in the world. You can use weapons to defend yourself and craft a plethora of different items to aid you on your journey.
Similar to many other survival games, Rust features a base-building system that you can use to create structures. The structures you can create in Rust help you survive against NPC enemies and other players. Rust is perfect if you want a base-building game that has challenging online gameplay.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Available On: Nintendo Switch
A Nintendo Switch exclusive, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, is one of the most unique base-building games you can play in the current generation of video games. You can customize your Island however you like and keep yourself busy with fun tasks such as fishing and speaking to NPC characters on your Island.
Unlike many other base-building games, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a relaxing game that doesn't feature challenging combat or a dangerous open world. As such, you'll enjoy Animal Crossing: New Horizons if you want to create and decorate your home and avoid challenging gameplay.
Fallout 76
- Available On: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, and PC
The past few Fallout games feature base-building as a core gameplay mechanic; however, Fallout 76 is unique because it allows you to create bases wherever you want. Instead of only having individual settlements to unlock, you can use the CAMP system to create a structure in most parts of the map.
The CAMP system is convenient since there are many places you may want to build a structure throughout the Wasteland, whether it's near a location you want to visit or simply a beautiful piece of land.