- Spanish solo developer Juan Felipe Molina’s 8 years of development, itch.io, becomes a hot topic with 12,000 downloads
- A life simulation depicting control and surveillance in daily life, set in a world where only a small room and a single TV are permitted.
- A new retro-futurism work that explores capitalism, media control, and a technology-dependent society through black humor
“Dystopicon,” a satirical dystopian life simulation developed by Palitroque, a one-person indie studio in Cartagena, Spain, will be released on Steam on July 27.
Dystopycon is set in a retro-futuristic world where robots take over all labor. Players live day by day by watching TV in a small room provided by the government to earn a salary, and using that money to purchase services necessary for survival.
Through this setting, the game sharply satirizes capitalism, media control, and a society dependent on technology. The itch.io prototype, released in 2018, was recognized for its artistic merit with over 12,000 downloads, and this served as a springboard for the development of a commercial version, leading to this Steam release.
Just one room, one TV … The choice between conformity and resistance
The player is a second-class citizen of a government-managed society. The government provides a small room and a job watching TV, and pays a salary based on the channels watched. With this money, the player must survive by purchasing services necessary for daily life, such as a bed, gas stove, and shower.
The core of the game is choice. You can live as a model citizen conforming to the system, or choose the path of a rebel resisting the government. Every action leads to a consequence, and the accumulation of choices creates different endings.
6 Scenarios, 14 Endings… Diverse Destinies Shaped by Choices
Story mode consists of 6 scenarios and 14 endings.
You start as an ordinary citizen, but depending on your choices, you can become a loyal government party member or be imprisoned in a re-education camp. In addition, various situations unfold, such as becoming a bureaucrat, hacking systems, getting involved in terrorist incidents, or unexpectedly winning the lottery. Hidden secret scenarios are also included to enhance the fun of replayability.
In the separate Challenge Mode, you will focus solely on collecting funds to escape the room without news or various events.
A closed daily life depicted through retro-futurism
Dystopycon is a first-person 3D game played in a small room.
Xenia Almela, who was in charge of the 3D art, created retro-futurism visuals that were much more polished than the initial prototype. The TV playing government broadcasts on repeat and the old home appliances suggest a familiar yet somewhat unsettling atmosphere.
The game’s narrative is not only naturally conveyed through gameplay but also unfolds with greater depth through text messages and comic-style illustration sequences created by Mario Alba. The repetitive sounds of government broadcasts and TV channels also effectively convey the stifling feeling of being in a confined space.
8 Years from an itch.io Prototype: The Journey of Developer Juan Felipe Molina
‘Dystopycon’ sprouted from the itch.io prototype released in 2018.
Developer Juan Felipe Molina conceived the game inspired by the premise in Philip K. Dick’s novel *Ubik* that one must insert coins to use appliances. By combining this with a reality where TV and social media dominate people’s daily lives, he created a unique worldview of “a world where watching TV is one’s job.”
The initial prototype proved its potential by recording over 12,000 downloads on itch.io. Later, as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, the game’s thematic depth took on a more realistic significance, and the developer continued the project alongside their main job until they quit their job in 2025 to fully dedicate themselves to development.
In the final version, Xenia Almela was in charge of the 3D art, and 2D artist Mario Alba, who had been with the team since the initial version, further enhanced the comic direction.
A game satirizing censorship was censored … Community and media reactions
The most talked-about incident leading up to the release was that the game trailer was actually censored due to platform policies. The irony that a promotional video for a game critical of censorship was censored generated significant buzz in the community and actually heightened interest in the title.
Reviews from international media outlets that played the demo have been positive. It was praised for effectively satirizing capitalism, a technology-dependent society, and extreme individualism through a small-scale game, and was also acclaimed for its exquisite incorporation of social control via media and the modern “doomscrolling” culture.
Developer Juan Felipe Molina explained, “Players interpret the in-game government as a different political system, but we did not define a specific ideology,” adding, “Intentional ambiguity actually leads to different interpretations for each player.”
In addition, continuous improvements have been made, such as adjusting difficulty based on community feedback and adding new endings and Turkish language support, and gameplay videos continue to spread steadily, primarily on YouTube and streaming platforms.
Dystopycon is not merely a simulation game featuring a bizarre setting. Through a future society where watching TV has become a profession, it uses black humor to explore cross-sections of modern society such as capitalism, media control, and dependence on technology, constantly posing questions to the player.
Having started as an itch.io prototype in 2018 and been refined over eight years, it is now set for an official release on Steam and is expected to offer a unique experience to users looking for indie games featuring original worldviews and social satire.
Information regarding ‘Dystopicon’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Palitroque (Cartagena, Spain, Juan Felipe Molina) |
| Publisher | Palitroque (Self-publishing) |
| Genre | Dystopian Life Sim / Time Management / Satirical Simulation |
| Release platform | PC (Steam) |
| Release date | July 27, 2026 |
| price | $7.99 (15% off for 2 weeks after launch) |
| Original prototype | itch.io (Released in 2018, 12,000 downloads) |
| core system | Earn salary by watching TV, survive by purchasing services, 6 scenarios, 14 endings |
| inspiration | 1984, Brave New World, Ubik, Papers Please |
| Steam Page | https://store.steampowered.com/app/3713750/Dystopicon/ |
