There are very few feelings as odd as being a video game journalist and playing a video game about being a journalist. News Tower gets very close to this, except it is more about managing journalists and newspapers. The newspaper tycoon management sim is set in 1930s New York City, where players will have to expand their business, recruit new employees, and search for the most newsworthy stories to feature on the front page. Back at the Future Games Show in August 2023, News Tower was shown off with a release window of early 2024. And launch in early 2024 it will, as it has been announced that the game will be released in February 2024 in Early Access for PC.
Step into the shoes as the publisher of a newspaper that isn’t doing so well. The ultimate goal is to turn it into a media empire, a rags to riches scenario. There are a lot of layers here. Recruit and manage every profession necessary to keep the papers coming, like reporters, photographers, janitors, ad salespeople, and lawyers. Discover exciting worldwide news and match the editorial line with the readers’ general interests. There is a delicate balance to be found between editorial quality and gaining new customers. Powerful factions like the mayor and the mafia will try to meddle, that’s all up to the player to decide if they want to be paid off. Build and optimise a tower to keep your employees happy and productive, and meet printing deadlines.
Here is a look at News Tower in a trailer from May (ignore the release date window, that has obviously changed):
Break the news while it’s still, well, new! Cover everything from cat disappearances to historic events (like Prohibition). Follow leads worldwide and choose from which angle to cover stories. Maintain the integrity of the press, or trade influence with different factions. Each week, oversee the telegraph desk, the typesetting, and laying out the paper.
In Early Access, players will only be able to play from 1930 to 1932. The full game will span from 1930 to 1939. There will be 100+ objects to outfit the tower, 10+ job types, the core loop of reporting/production/printing, a news map, 1000+ news items to report on, New York district systems to gain more readers, and progress unlocking systems to stay efficient.
Developed by Sparrow Night and published by Twin Sails Interactive, News Tower will be released in Early Access for PC via Steam on February 13, 2024.
