World Investor
Learn how taxes, fees and running costs shape a fortune, in a pixel-art investing game.
World Investor is an investing game in the browser. Players start with $1 million and choose the country they invest from, which sets their capital gains tax, dividend tax, broker fees and monthly running costs. They buy companies on 18 island stock exchanges, react to rumours, crashes and earnings, and can move to a tax haven later, paying exit tax where the law asks for it. It installs as an app and saves on the device.
- Stage
- Live
- Launch market
- Global
- Revenue
- Free game; school and bank licences planned
- Price
- Free to play; classroom licence planned at $199 a year
- Buyer
- Players curious about investing; schools and banks
- Stack
- JavaScript · Three.js
The problem
- Most people never learn how much taxes, fees and running costs eat from their returns.
- Stock market simulators are dry spreadsheets that nobody finishes.
- Financial education for young people is rarely fun.
The product
A game where every number matters. The country you live in decides your taxes, buying abroad costs an FX fee, foreign dividends are withheld, and your monthly costs keep running. Players feel the difference between Denmark at 42% tax and Monaco at 0%, and why moving is not free.
- Start with $1 million.
- Pick the country you invest from.
- Tap islands and towers to buy companies around the world.
- Ride rumours, crashes, booms and quarterly dividends.
- Pay tax every 31 December, and move when you are rich enough.
Who pays and why
Business model
| Revenue line | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free play | $0 | Full game in the browser. |
| Classroom licence | $199 / year (planned) | Teacher dashboard and class leaderboards. |
| Branded edition | From $5,000 (planned) | A bank's own version with its logo and products. |
Market and targets
Financial literacy is a growing priority for schools, banks and governments, and tycoon games keep a large casual audience. A game that teaches real tax mechanics fills the gap between dry simulators and pure entertainment.
Targets are planning assumptions.
Go-to-market
Players
- Free web play and app install
- Trailer and gameplay clips
- Investing and tycoon communities
Schools
- Teacher guide and class mode
- Pilots with a few schools
Partners
- Branded editions for banks and fintechs
- Localised tax rules per country
Channels
| Video clips | Short clips of towers growing and tax bills landing. |
|---|---|
| Teachers | Word of mouth between schools. |
| Bank partnerships | Education campaigns reach many customers. |
Competition
| Alternative today | Why we win |
|---|---|
| Stock market simulators | Accurate but dry, no tax or cost model. |
| Tycoon games | Fun but teach nothing about real money. |
| Finance apps | Real money, real risk, not for learning. |
What we measure
- Games started and years played
- Day 7 retention
- Share who move country at least once
- Classroom sign-ups
Status and roadmap
- 18 countries with their own taxes, fees and costs
- 58 fictional companies with events and dividends
- Year-end tax reports, exit tax, loss carry-forward
- Installable app that saves on the device
- Class mode with leaderboards
- More countries and tax rules
- Branded edition for a partner
Risks
| Risk | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| Games are a hit-driven market | Low production cost, measure retention early and only scale what players keep coming back to. |
| App store fees and rules | Web version first, so players can be reached without store fees; stores add discovery. |
| Tax rules seen as advice | Clearly labelled as simplified game values, not tax advice. |
Want a product like this?
We build version one of products like World Investor from about $3,000: web app, admin panel, mobile app and API, live on your own domain. Then we can host and maintain it for $500 a month.