New building games, from Roman provinces to your own town

The most talked-about building game of 2026 is Pokemon Pokopia, out March 5 on Switch 2. For full city builders, Anno 117: Pax Romana keeps adding content through November. Here are the new ones, the classics they come from, and Roam builders you can start on a phone.

Checked November 3, 2026.

New and recent building games

Pokemon Pokopia. Released March 5, 2026 on Switch 2, made by Game Freak with Koei Tecmo's Omega Force. A cozy building and life game where you shape a town with Pokemon.
Anno 117: Pax Romana. Ubisoft's Roman city builder from November 13, 2025. You govern Latium or Albion and balance trade chains. Its Year Pass ends with a third expansion due in November 2026.
Hytale. Block building plus adventure from Hypixel Studios, in early access on Windows, Mac and Linux since January 13, 2026.
Tiny Glade. A 2024 building toy with no goals: draw walls, watch a castle grow.

Where city builders come from

SimCity (1989). Maxis made the city builder: zones, roads, power and angry citizens.
Cities: Skylines (2015). Colossal Order's game became the modern standard, with a 2023 sequel.
Manor Lords. A medieval town builder that launched in early access in 2024, where the village grows around your roads.

Roam builders

Roam is a free iPhone app with builders of every size. Pocket Skyline is a city builder: start with a power plant and grow a city around it. Mars Colony asks you to pick a site, land and build a home on Mars. Overload Island is a power grid puzzle: light every house without blowing the grid.

HANDFUL is a god game: you are the hand, they are the village. Hold Till Dawn is voxel survival: punch a tree, build up, last the night. Splash or Splat is a water park tycoon where you draw a slide and fill it with paying guests.

Play it on Roam

Build your own town with Roam

Describe the town and what it needs. Roam makes it playable, and you can ask for disasters, more citizens or a co-op friend. Roam is rated 13+ on the App Store.

Try: "build my hometown from scratch, start with a bakery and a bus stop, keep everyone happy through winter, a friend can build the other side of the river"

Create it with Roam Pre-register on Android See Roam

Roam ("Roam - Make Games" on the App Store) is an iPhone app where you play games and make your own by describing them or from a photo. It is free to download and play, and making games works without a subscription; optional Spark and Reality plans and credit packs add more creation. Android: pre-register on Google Play.

Questions people ask

Is Pokemon Pokopia on Switch 1?

No. It released March 5, 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2 only.

What is the newest Anno game?

Anno 117: Pax Romana, released November 13, 2025 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series.

Are there building games on phones?

Yes. Roam has city, colony and tycoon builders on iPhone, and you can make your own from a sentence.

Sources, checked November 3, 2026

Pokemon Pokopia: Game Freak + Omega Force, Mar 5 2026, Switch 2 only: en.wikipedia.org
Anno 117: Ubisoft Mainz, Nov 13 2025, PS5/PC/Xbox Series, Latium/Albion, Year Pass to Nov 2026: en.wikipedia.org
Hytale early access Jan 13 2026: en.wikipedia.org
Tiny Glade 2024, no goals: en.wikipedia.org
Manor Lords early access April 2024: en.wikipedia.org