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Nuclear Design Bureau
Design. Simulate. Detonate. As a junior engineer at the Kurchatov Institute, you design atomic devices to satisfy the demands of the State. A hardcore physics game simulating hydrodynamics, neutron transport, and thermonuclear fusion.
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-27 · quoted reviews as of 2026-09-25.
“I have been really enjoying this game. It’s a little disappointing to see so many negative reviews because of the UI and “vibe coding”. Firstly, I will say the UI is not great. However after spending some time getting used to its quirks, putting something together flows…”
— a player, Steam review · 25 hrs played“Remember how you were making all those nukes in Powder Toy when you were 10? Yeah, this is it but for the grown-ups. The 3D detonation render is a bit laggy but otherwise, it's cool. I'm glad this game is out of the very specific kind of development hell it was in.”
— a player, Steam review · 16 hrs played“This is a fun idea unfortunately largely held back by vibe coding, a buggy poorly designed editor and poor simulation accuracy. I hope that things improve through early access but releasing in this state is rough. The campaign/dossier/tutorial prompting is all clearly lightly…”
— a player, Steam review · 2 hrs playedAchievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-09-26.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-09-26. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-09-25). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Experimental LID/Sparkplug branch is out
Please test your LID designs and have fun! Right-click Nuclear Design Bureau in your Steam Library → Properties → Game Versions & Betas → select the experimental "sparkplug" branch, then update your g
Patch 09/20/26
Changelog: Added simulation speed buttons: 1, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/10 for those with super gpu's.. Fixed Space placement after adjusting shape knobs. Fixed large designs failing to save or copy. Fixed proto
update 2, 2026-09-19
1. Directive 1-2 no longer sits silent after DETONATE; the lesson pauses when the yield settles. 2. Directive 1-2: two-cell relief bore in the gun barrel, and a step that teaches the eraser. 3. Gunpow
hotfixes 9/15 9:04pm
game update: Hopefully the many alt tab copies is finally fixed, it was windows making ghosts when alt tabbing and the application was unresponsive. circle and ellipse dont have the pointy pixels now
Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-09-25.
| Genres | Indie, Simulation, Strategy, Early Access |
| Player tags | Simulation · Strategy · Physics · Cold War · Science · Sandbox · Puzzle · 2D · Pixel Graphics · Dark · Difficult · Destruction (Steam store community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Custom Volume Controls · Mouse Only Option · Playable without Timed Input · Save Anytime · Steam Cloud · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English |
| Achievements | 11 |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1903 or later) Processor: Quad-core, Intel i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: DirectX 12 GPU with 4 GB VRAM and WebGPU support, GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 580 DirectX: Version 12 Storage: 3 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Additional Notes: Requires up-to-date graphics drivers with WebGPU support. Integrated graphics are untested. Display: 1280 x 720.