1.0·Every feature free until Premium arrives in October
606
playing on Steam now·
606
24-hour peak
All-time peak 1,753 in Aug 2026·30 days −23%
Is Prison Architect dead in 2026?
No, but it is small.
In October 2026, Prison Architect averaged 754 players on Steam at once, 23% fewer than the month before. The most Coilr has recorded at once is 1,753 in August 2026. 606 people are playing Prison Architect on Steam right now. The count now is 35% of the record. These are Steam players only: a game that also runs on its own launcher or on console has players this cannot see.
Is Prison Architect worth it?
Well-reviewed overall, but recent reviews have dipped, so check what changed first.
The average Coilr player has put 21h into Prison Architect, and at $29.99 that's about 1.43 per hour. Steam reviews are very positive. Heads-up: recent reviews are 10% positive, 75 points below its all-time 89%, so something may have changed lately.
$1.43/hr·21h avg·89% positive·10% recently ▾
Automated estimate from Coilr-tracked playtime and Steam reviews (Coilr doesn't verify individual reviews), not a paid placement. How this is calculated
Prison Architect player count
606players8.2% over 6 days
Latest reading · average in view 745
This game's player count is measured about every 30 hours. Steam allows a limited number of requests per day, so the busiest games are measured every few minutes and quieter ones less often. The shape of the curve is real, the fine detail between points isn't recorded.
30-day average
754
players at once, on Steam
Steam reviews
89%
Very Positive
Average playtime
21 h
Coilr players
Coilr players
72
who own it
Prison Architect players by month
Average and peak players on Steam at the same time, each month since Coilr started tracking Prison Architect. The change is against the month before.
| Month | Avg. players | Change | Peak players |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 (so far) | 784 | −82 | 1,238 |
| Sep 2026 | 866 | +22 | 1,709 |
| Aug 2026 | 844 | −69 | 1,753 |
| Jul 2026 | 913 | +202 | 1,613 |
| Jun 2026 (from first reading) | 711 | — | 726 |
Steam reviews
Very PositivePositive
89%
Total reviews
73,862
Pos / Neg
65,651 / 8,211
% positive by month
Value
What players actually get for the price, based on real tracked playtime.
Cost per hour
$1.41
at $29.99
Avg playtime
21 h
across 72 players
Total tracked
1,534 h
How long to beat
No verified owner has reported a time for Prison Architect yet.
Sign in to be the firstPlayer retention
Few owners still playHow many tracked owners still play, something raw concurrent counts can't tell you.
Active (2 weeks)
0%
0 of 72 owners
Played last 7 days
0
Hours trend (2wk)
▲ Rising
Last time owners played
Last 7 days · 08-30 days · 331-90 days · 290+ days · 67
Hours played per day (Coilr owners, 90d)
Where players are
Country distribution of Coilr players who own this game.
🇺🇸US
40%
🇬🇧GB
12%
🇫🇷FR
10%
🇩🇪DE
6%
🇨🇦CA
6%
🇦🇺AU
6%
🇵🇱PL
4%
🇹🇷TR
2%
Estimated playerbase by region
Inferred from when Prison Architect is busiest each day. A rough estimate of the global playerbase from player-count patterns, not exact player locations.
Most players look to be in Europe & Africa (~27%).
Europe & Africa
27%
Americas
26%
Asia-Pacific
24%
Russia & CIS
23%
Players online by hour (UTC)
00h06h12h18h23h
Busiest around 15:00 with about 1,238 people in game — 2.7× as many as at 04:00, the quietest hour.
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More on Prison Architect
Frequently asked about Prison Architect
How many people play Prison Architect?
In October 2026, Prison Architect averaged 754 players on Steam at once, 23% fewer than the month before. The most Coilr has recorded at once is 1,753 in August 2026.
Is Prison Architect dead in 2026?
No, but it is small. In October 2026, Prison Architect averaged 754 players on Steam at once, 23% fewer than the month before. The most Coilr has recorded at once is 1,753 in August 2026. These are Steam players only: a game that also runs on its own launcher or on console has players this cannot see.
Is Prison Architect worth it?
Well-reviewed overall, but recent reviews have dipped, so check what changed first. The average Coilr player has put 21h into Prison Architect, and at $29.99 that's about 1.43 per hour. Steam reviews are very positive. Heads-up: recent reviews are 10% positive, 75 points below its all-time 89%, so something may have changed lately.
How much does Prison Architect cost?
Prison Architect costs $29.99 on Steam (USD). The average Coilr player has put 21 hours in, about 1.43 per hour.
How many hours does it take to play Prison Architect?
Across 72 tracked owners on Coilr, the average playtime in Prison Architect is about 21 hours.
How many copies has Prison Architect sold?
About 2.4 million copies on Steam, likely between 1.3 million and 4.8 million, estimated from its Steam reviews. Valve does not publish sales figures.