Big Auto Needs You to Pave Paradise in Satire Sim 'Car Park Capital'

Hilkojj Interactive has teamed up with Railroad, Transport and RollerCoaster Tycoon publisher MicroProse to release Car Park Capital on Steam Early Access.

Described by its developer as a game that blends "strategy and simulation with satire", Car Park Capital tasks you with designing "the slickest parking lots ever seen" before convincing the population "they absolutely need them."

That's right – this spiky satire of the automobile-obsessed world we inhabit requires you to brainwash citizens and "outsmart pesky anti-petrol protesters" so you can sneakily transform beautiful green fields into concrete-encrusted parking spaces. "It's time to drive up car sales and oil consumption," the game's Steam page reads. "For profit.. but mostly for freedom!"

The gameplay loop sees you buying up land, levelling buildings and creating "endless flat seas of asphalt or build into the air using the 3D construction tools." You'll need to monitor the thoughts of the people to ensure they really love their four-wheeled friends, and, if you see signs of resistance, use pro-car propaganda "to turn everyone into a carbrain." Other distraction tactics include fairground rides.

Should things get really out of hand, you'll need to deal with anti-car protests before they become infectious and turn the population against gas-guzzling vehicles.

This is sharp social commentary on "car dependency and urban development," and it's good fun, too. The developer says the plan is to keep the game in Early Access for about ten months before a full release in the summer of 2027.

"We plan to have more maps, more building and customization options, more strategic depth to features like Oil Drilling and add events and disasters," says Hilkojj Interactive. "Building options may include objects to build custom malls, different forms of parking and/or Movie and Restaurant Drive-Ins. We also plan to improve existing features based on feedback and add Quality of Life features where needed."