Made for Shannon with love from Stefan · credits · back to guide

📅 Tropico Series Timeline

Every mainline Tropico, in release order — developer, platforms, and the one mechanic that made it the Tropico players remember.

  1. 2001

    Tropico

    PopTop Software · Gathering of Developers · Windows / macOS

    The original. 14-trait El Presidente personality, faction-driven politics on a hand-painted island. The game that named the genre.

  2. 2003

    Tropico 2: Pirate Cove

    Frog City Software · Gathering of Developers · Windows / macOS

    Genre swerve to Pirate King — no El Presidente. Captives + pirates instead of citizens + tourists. Cult favorite, often ranked top of the series.

  3. 2009

    Tropico 3

    Haemimont Games · Kalypso Media · Windows / Xbox 360

    Reboot under Haemimont. Cold War era, fully 3D, edicts as the political dial. Set the template every later Tropico inherited.

  4. 2011

    Tropico 4

    Haemimont Games · Kalypso Media · Windows / Xbox 360 / macOS / Linux

    Tropico 3 + ministers + more buildings + scripted disasters. The "comfort food" Tropico. 20-mission campaign + Modern Times DLC.

  5. 2014

    Tropico 5

    Haemimont Games · Kalypso Media · Windows / Linux / macOS / PS4 / Xbox 360

    Four eras (Colonial → Modern), dynasty system, research tree. First series multiplayer. Polarizing reception — some loved the eras, some missed T4's tempo.

  6. 2019

    Tropico 6

    Limbic Entertainment · Kalypso Media · Windows / Linux / macOS / PS4 / Xbox One / Switch

    Archipelagos with bridges, raids (steal the Eiffel Tower), the Broker, four eras evolved from T5. The most-content Tropico, with active post-launch DLC support.

Want a deeper dive? Each title links to its full guide. For side-by-side comparison, see 📊 /compare.