Where to get it

Steam

2016 · Adventure · Arcade

Tower Unite

Tower Unite is a living, evolving world, fueled by the community. Play online games with your friends or make new friends from around the world!

Released: 8 April 2016
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Adventure Arcade Board game Casual Indie MMORPG Party Racing Shooter Simulation
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Co-op Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: First person Third person Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Sandbox Party
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
Languages: English
Time to beat: 16hmain story17hcompletionist

About

Tower Unite is a virtual world party game and sandbox game developed by PixelTail Games. It was first released in early access on Steam in April 2016 and received a full release in April 2025. The game is set on an island in the style of a resort theme park, where players can interact, play mini-games, and join lobbies via matchmaking. In addition, players can host public or private virtual spaces known as "condos", customized with furniture and props.

The concept was initially developed in late 2006, but development was prolonged due to multiple development cycles and changing teams. It was eventually released to the public in 2009 under the name GMod Tower, as a mod for the Source engine game Garry's Mod.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Tower Unite is set in an open world island with a central plaza, tower, several stores and buildings, and a wharf with carnival-style games. Main features of the island include a casino, arcade, roller coaster, bowling alley, monorail and Ferris wheel, to name some. The outer areas of the island include beaches, pools, huts, and a lighthouse, with areas for fishing. The island has a simulated day-night cycle.

The theme of the plaza is updated to celebrate holidays and events such as Halloween and Christmas, and is populated by dynamic NPCs and time-based mini-game events. Playing games, partaking in events, and completing achievements earns an in-game currency, which can be used to buy things in the game; no real money is ever used.

Development

The idea of Tower Unite was first expressed in a concept in late 2006, with various attempts to develop it which were substantially delayed with numerous team changes. By 2009, the game was finally developed as GMod Tower, a mod for the Source engine game Garry's Mod. It became a cult hit and was one of the more significant Garry's Mod projects of its time, later featured in a Rock Paper Shotgun article in 2012 as a notable mod.

In 2015, the developers founded PixelTail Games and began development of Tower Unite as a standalone game. This would lead to the retirement of GMod Tower, with a focus on building the concept further in a modern game engine. PixelTail Games received two forms of funding, a developer grant from Epic Games, and subsequently a successful crowdfunding effort on Indiegogo that same year.

Reception

Tower Unite was praised for its Steam Workshop integration and user-generated content, including by journalist Jeff Gerstmann and gaming site Giant Bomb. In 2022, the website hosted their game of the year deliberations virtually inside Tower Unite. Brendan Caldwell of Rock Paper Shotgun described Tower Unite as a "bizarre resort town" and compared elements of it to The Sims and PlayStation Home.

In October 2023, GameRant ranked Tower Unite 14 out of 21 in a list of top FPS games for children, describing the game as a "hidden gem." In 2024, TheGamer ranked Tower Unite's minigolf game world among the "best mini golf games you can play". That same year, Monica Phillips of Hardcore Gamer praised Tower Unite as a notable multiplayer social game for Steam Deck, but criticised its large file size and relatively poor performance in heavily-decorated condos.