STEAMDB NEXUS

Steam app 1520 · updated 12 Sep 2026, 23:39 UTC

DEFCON

Inspired by the 1983 cult classic film, Wargames, DEFCON superbly evokes the tension, paranoia and suspicion of the Cold War era, playing on the fascinating aspects of psychological gameplay that occur during strategic nuclear warfare.

DEFCON Steam header artwork
Introversion SoftwareIntroversion Software
17playing now
1724-hour peak
358all-time peak
8average, last 30 days

The last 30 days

0Gain+0.51%% gain20Peak

280 hourly samples, with the daily peak drawn over them. Weekends are shaded.

0511162214 Aug19 Aug24 Aug29 Aug03 Sep08 SepFriday 14 August 202616 peakSaturday 15 August 202615 peakSunday 16 August 202614 peakMonday 17 August 202615 peakTuesday 18 August 202616 peakWednesday 19 August 202612 peakThursday 20 August 20267 peakFriday 21 August 202611 peakSaturday 22 August 202615 peakSunday 23 August 202616 peakMonday 24 August 202611 peakTuesday 25 August 202611 peakWednesday 26 August 202611 peakThursday 27 August 202614 peakFriday 28 August 202615 peakSaturday 29 August 202619 peakSunday 30 August 202615 peakMonday 31 August 202610 peakTuesday 01 September 202611 peakWednesday 02 September 202616 peakThursday 03 September 202617 peakFriday 04 September 202614 peakSaturday 05 September 202615 peakSunday 06 September 202616 peakMonday 07 September 202617 peakTuesday 08 September 202611 peakWednesday 09 September 202613 peakThursday 10 September 202614 peakFriday 11 September 202620 peakSaturday 12 September 202617 peak
Daily peakEvery hourly sample

All time

171 months, July 2012 to September 2026. The highest number of people in the game at once, each month, on a time axis -- a gap in the record stays a gap.

0971932903872012201420172019202120242026July 2012233 monthly peakAugust 2012100 monthly peakSeptember 201255 monthly peakOctober 201238 monthly peakNovember 201259 monthly peakDecember 2012358 monthly peakJanuary 201371 monthly peakFebruary 2013141 monthly peakMarch 201346 monthly peakApril 201346 monthly peakMay 201342 monthly peakJune 201335 monthly peakJuly 201372 monthly peakAugust 2013164 monthly peakSeptember 201355 monthly peakOctober 201390 monthly peakNovember 201377 monthly peakDecember 201361 monthly peakJanuary 201450 monthly peakFebruary 201447 monthly peakMarch 201444 monthly peakApril 201478 monthly peakMay 201492 monthly peakJune 201497 monthly peakJuly 201455 monthly peakAugust 201431 monthly peakSeptember 201439 monthly peakOctober 201439 monthly peakNovember 2014162 monthly peakDecember 2014135 monthly peakJanuary 2015118 monthly peakFebruary 201567 monthly peakMarch 201544 monthly peakApril 201545 monthly peakMay 201561 monthly peakJune 2015127 monthly peakJuly 201549 monthly peakAugust 201546 monthly peakSeptember 201536 monthly peakOctober 201564 monthly peakNovember 201594 monthly peakDecember 201579 monthly peakJanuary 201674 monthly peakFebruary 201645 monthly peakMarch 201645 monthly peakApril 201642 monthly peakMay 201634 monthly peakJune 201691 monthly peakJuly 201682 monthly peakAugust 201637 monthly peakSeptember 201642 monthly peakOctober 201655 monthly peakNovember 201663 monthly peakDecember 201666 monthly peakJanuary 201754 monthly peakFebruary 201739 monthly peakMarch 201743 monthly peakApril 201746 monthly peakMay 2017355 monthly peakJune 201772 monthly peakJuly 201762 monthly peakAugust 201742 monthly peakSeptember 201735 monthly peakOctober 201759 monthly peakNovember 201752 monthly peakDecember 201753 monthly peakJanuary 201844 monthly peakFebruary 201831 monthly peakMarch 201831 monthly peakApril 201832 monthly peakMay 201830 monthly peakJune 201848 monthly peakJuly 201842 monthly peakAugust 201830 monthly peakSeptember 201834 monthly peakOctober 201834 monthly peakNovember 201833 monthly peakDecember 201836 monthly peakJanuary 201927 monthly peakFebruary 201933 monthly peakMarch 201927 monthly peakApril 201925 monthly peakMay 201928 monthly peakJune 201932 monthly peakJuly 201961 monthly peakAugust 201933 monthly peakSeptember 201987 monthly peakOctober 201961 monthly peakNovember 201967 monthly peakDecember 201989 monthly peakJanuary 202071 monthly peakFebruary 202048 monthly peakMarch 202049 monthly peakApril 202049 monthly peakMay 202043 monthly peakJune 202075 monthly peakJuly 202044 monthly peakAugust 202038 monthly peakSeptember 202040 monthly peakOctober 202062 monthly peakNovember 202068 monthly peakDecember 202055 monthly peakJanuary 202157 monthly peakFebruary 202156 monthly peakMarch 202135 monthly peakApril 202144 monthly peakMay 202132 monthly peakJune 202167 monthly peakJuly 202151 monthly peakAugust 202132 monthly peakSeptember 202127 monthly peakOctober 202145 monthly peakNovember 202148 monthly peakDecember 202151 monthly peakJanuary 202250 monthly peakFebruary 202271 monthly peakMarch 202268 monthly peakApril 2022165 monthly peakMay 202246 monthly peakJune 202236 monthly peakJuly 202241 monthly peakAugust 202228 monthly peakSeptember 202228 monthly peakOctober 202236 monthly peakNovember 202264 monthly peakDecember 202245 monthly peakJanuary 202339 monthly peakFebruary 202330 monthly peakMarch 202333 monthly peakApril 202327 monthly peakMay 202330 monthly peakJune 202330 monthly peakJuly 202343 monthly peakAugust 202330 monthly peakSeptember 202360 monthly peakOctober 202333 monthly peakNovember 202339 monthly peakDecember 202339 monthly peakJanuary 202427 monthly peakFebruary 202426 monthly peakMarch 202440 monthly peakApril 202431 monthly peakMay 202431 monthly peakJune 202436 monthly peakJuly 202438 monthly peakAugust 202432 monthly peakSeptember 202428 monthly peakOctober 202428 monthly peakNovember 202440 monthly peakDecember 202437 monthly peakJanuary 202537 monthly peakFebruary 202535 monthly peakMarch 202525 monthly peakApril 202539 monthly peakMay 202539 monthly peakJune 202523 monthly peakJuly 202523 monthly peakAugust 202524 monthly peakSeptember 2025108 monthly peakOctober 202532 monthly peakNovember 202528 monthly peakDecember 202529 monthly peakJanuary 202628 monthly peakFebruary 202625 monthly peakMarch 202630 monthly peakApril 202628 monthly peakMay 202624 monthly peakJune 202620 monthly peakJuly 202618 monthly peakAugust 202619 monthly peakSeptember 202620 monthly peak
Monthly peak

The last four months

Show:

The highest number of people in the game at once, each month. Four, because four is as far back as the source keeps anything finer than one figure a month.

05111622July 2026August 2026September 2026October 2026July 202618 peak — daily detail belowAugust 202619 peak — hourly detail belowSeptember 202620 peak — hourly detail below
Monthly peakHas finer data

July 2026

31 days, each one the highest figure that day. The source keeps no hourly detail this far back. Weekends are shaded.

0510151901 Jul06 Jul11 Jul16 Jul21 Jul26 Jul31 JulWednesday 01 July 202613 peakThursday 02 July 20268 peakFriday 03 July 202610 peakSaturday 04 July 202615 peakSunday 05 July 202613 peakMonday 06 July 202611 peakTuesday 07 July 202614 peakWednesday 08 July 202611 peakThursday 09 July 202612 peakFriday 10 July 202610 peakSaturday 11 July 202611 peakSunday 12 July 202614 peakMonday 13 July 202618 peakTuesday 14 July 202611 peakWednesday 15 July 202613 peakThursday 16 July 202611 peakFriday 17 July 202612 peakSaturday 18 July 202613 peakSunday 19 July 202611 peakMonday 20 July 202612 peakTuesday 21 July 202614 peakWednesday 22 July 202612 peakThursday 23 July 202612 peakFriday 24 July 202612 peakSaturday 25 July 202618 peakSunday 26 July 202610 peakMonday 27 July 202616 peakTuesday 28 July 202611 peakWednesday 29 July 202610 peakThursday 30 July 202610 peakFriday 31 July 202612 peak

August 2026

31 days as the curve, each the highest figure that day. Behind it, 159 hourly samples from 14 Aug, which is as far back as the source keeps every hour. Weekends are shaded.

0510152101 Aug06 Aug11 Aug16 Aug21 Aug26 Aug31 AugSaturday 01 August 202615 peakSunday 02 August 202614 peakMonday 03 August 202611 peakTuesday 04 August 202610 peakWednesday 05 August 202613 peakThursday 06 August 202610 peakFriday 07 August 202612 peakSaturday 08 August 202612 peakSunday 09 August 202619 peakMonday 10 August 202612 peakTuesday 11 August 202614 peakWednesday 12 August 202614 peakThursday 13 August 202614 peakFriday 14 August 202616 peakSaturday 15 August 202615 peakSunday 16 August 202614 peakMonday 17 August 202615 peakTuesday 18 August 202616 peakWednesday 19 August 202612 peakThursday 20 August 20267 peakFriday 21 August 202611 peakSaturday 22 August 202615 peakSunday 23 August 202616 peakMonday 24 August 202611 peakTuesday 25 August 202611 peakWednesday 26 August 202611 peakThursday 27 August 202614 peakFriday 28 August 202615 peakSaturday 29 August 202619 peakSunday 30 August 202615 peakMonday 31 August 202610 peak

September 2026

12 days as the curve, each the highest figure that day. Behind it, 121 hourly samples. Each dip is a night. Weekends are shaded.

0511162201 Sep03 Sep05 Sep07 Sep09 Sep11 SepTuesday 01 September 202611 peakWednesday 02 September 202616 peakThursday 03 September 202617 peakFriday 04 September 202614 peakSaturday 05 September 202615 peakSunday 06 September 202616 peakMonday 07 September 202617 peakTuesday 08 September 202611 peakWednesday 09 September 202613 peakThursday 10 September 202614 peakFriday 11 September 202620 peakSaturday 12 September 202617 peak

October 2026

DEFCON was released on 29 Sep, 2006.

Not out yet.There is nothing to draw for this month.
Nothing here is interpolated or estimated; where a sample is missing the line is broken.

Game information

Updated 12 Sep 2026, 23:39 UTC
App ID
1520
Last updated
11 Sep 2026 build 25230674
Developer
Introversion Software
Publisher
Introversion Software
Release date
29 Sep, 2006
Platforms
WindowsmacOSLinux
Download size
121 MB126 MB123 MB
Install size
127 MB144 MB134 MB
Genres
Indie, Strategy
Game modes
Single-player, Multi-player, PvP, Online PvP, LAN PvP, Co-op, Online Co-op, LAN Co-op, Cross-Platform Multiplayer
Controller support
Unknown
Achievements
22
Metacritic
84

Features & support

Steam features

Steam AchievementsFamily Sharing

Controllers & input

Accessibility

Popular tags

TacticalPvPOnline Co-OpCo-opSingleplayerStrategyCold WarReplay ValueMilitaryMultiplayer2DTop-DownDifficultWargameRTSImmersive SimManagementStrategy RPGDiplomacyWorld War II
About this gameFull description from Steam
DEFCON, inspired by the 1983 cult classic Wargames, is a Cold War-era strategy game simulating global thermonuclear war. Hidden in an underground bunker, your goal is to annihilate enemy populations while protecting your own. Fragile alliances and betrayals shape the high-stakes gameplay, as every attack exposes you to retaliation. With its minimalist interface, DEFCON tracks death tolls in real-time, blending psychological tension with strategic depth. In nuclear Armageddon, everybody loses. You just have to lose the least. Experience the chilling reality of global thermonuclear war in DEFCON. Position submarines, silos, and air defenses to engage in strategic nuclear exchanges. Every attack reveals your own vulnerabilities, making each decision a high-stakes gamble. The minimalist, military-style interface, and chilling soundscape heightens the tension. DEFCON shines in multiplayer, where alliances are forged and broken in a heartbeat. Engage in brinkmanship, balancing aggression with self-preservation, to avoid triggering total nuclear war. The ultimate goal: ensure you lose the least, as paranoia and betrayal dominate every moment. DEFCON doesn’t just simulate war — it emphasizes its devastating cost. Real-time death tolls track the human impact as cities are obliterated and the globe plunges into darkness. DEFCON was the 3rd major game from acclaimed indie developer, Introversion Software, which then went onto to develop the BAFTA winning game, Prison Architect. Introversion Software has been developing games since 2001, and stands behind acclaimed titles like Uplink, Darwinia, Multiwinia, Prison Architect, Scanner Sombre, and their latest release, The Last Starship. Introversion has garnered both critical and commercial success being recognised with multiple awards including the IGF grand prize for Darwinia and BAFTA for best persistent game (Prison Architect). They have sold more than 4M copies of their games worldwide.
Content & age ratings2 regional ratings

Regional ratings

DEJUS6
IGRS3Interaksi Daring
System requirementsMinimum and recommended hardware

Minimum

Recommended: Windows XP, P3-600-Geforce 2, 128 Mb RAM, 60 Mb Hard Disk, Internet connection for multiplayer games

Recommended

macOS

OS: OS X version Leopard 10.5.8, Snow Leopard 10.6.3, or later. Processor: Intel Core Duo 1.66GHz+ Memory: 1GB of RAM Graphics: 64MB of video memory Hard Drive:

Linux

Processor: 1.8 Ghz Memory: 1Gb Graphics: 64Mb of memory Hard Drive: 70Mb
Supported languages5 languages
LanguageFull audio
English
French
German
Italian
Spanish - Spain

A blank audio cell means full audio was not marked in the returned language list.

Screenshots & trailersScreenshots and trailers

Trailers

AchievementsTotal count and selected achievements

22 achievements in total.

Show selected achievements (may contain spoilers)
VictoryAchievement
ReservesAchievement
Perfectly timed betrayalAchievement
Pre-emptive strikerAchievement
Kill The WorldAchievement
WastefulAchievement
Nice tryAchievement
Hit and runAchievement
Recon expertAchievement
Brave sacrificeAchievement

View all Steam achievements

5 developer announcements, Feb 2017 to Sep 2026 · times in UTC

September

  1. Update Notes for 1.70.2

    1.70.2 Bug Fixes Fixed a crash on startup, and when pressing Apply in the Mods window, caused by mods whose gameoptions.txt leaves a blank line where a text settings default value belongs. Fixed a crash on startup for anyone with extracted…

    Patch notes

August

  1. Defcon Update in Beta Testing

    Defcon Beta Update AnnouncementWe would like to announce that, thanks to the hard efforts of Defcon fan, volunteer and skilled developers, Keiron McPhee and Jasmin Brumme, we have a new build of Defcon to test! The core experience remains…

    John

September

  1. Update for Mac OS X 10.13 and later.

    Make Mac OS X 10.13 build the default. Should resolve "damaged and can't be opened" issue on recent Mac OS X.

    Patch notes

February

  1. Everybody Dies in VR

    Introversion joins the VR party! After Prison Architect, our most successful game is DEFCON - a nuclear war strategy game inspired by the 80s movie War games (If you've not seen it, so yourself a favour and check it out over the weekend)…

    elDiablo
  2. Everybody Dies in VR

    Introversion joins the VR party! After Prison Architect, our most successful game is DEFCON - a nuclear war strategy game inspired by the 80s movie War games (If you've not seen it, so yourself a favour and check it out over the weekend)…

    elDiablo

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