Bullfrog Productions · Alfa System^* +3^*

Populous

1989 real-time strategy · god game · strategy video game^* +2^*

At a glance

Genres

real-time strategy
god game
strategy video game^*
construction and management simulation^*
puzzle video game^*

Play modes

single-player video game
multiplayer video game

Series

Populous

Game facts

Developers

Bullfrog Productions
Alfa System^*
Infinity^*
Enigma Variations^*
AlfaSystem^*

Publishers

Electronic Arts
Imagineer^*
Acclaim Entertainment^*
Hudson Soft^*

View full details

Platforms

Players by platform

Sega Mega Drive^*
Maximum players (mode unspecified)
1^*
DOS^*
Maximum players (mode unspecified)
2^*
TurboGrafx-16^*
Maximum players (mode unspecified)
1^*
Game Boy^*
Maximum players (mode unspecified)
1^*
Super Nintendo Entertainment System^*
Maximum players (mode unspecified)
1^*
Atari ST^*
Maximum players (mode unspecified)
1^*
Sharp X68000^*
Maximum players (mode unspecified)
1^*

Compatibility and community reports

Steam Deck · 2026-06-27^*
Compatibility category
Playable^*
Linux · Community reports · 2026-06-27^*
Community Linux compatibility tier
Bronze^*
Reports
3^*
Community confidence
low^*

System requirements

Windows · Minimum^*
Operating system
Windows XP or Vista^*
Processor alternatives
1.8 GHz^*
Memory
512 MB RAM^*
Graphics alternatives
3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended)^*
Storage
16 MB available space^*
Windows · Recommended^*
Processor alternatives
1.8 GHz^*
Graphics alternatives
3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended)^*
Memory
1 GB^*

Steam version platforms

Windows^*
Supported
Yes^*
macOS^*
Supported
No^*
Linux^*
Supported
No^*

Interface languages

English^*
Full audio
Yes^*

Audio languages

English^*

Game features

Single-player^*
Multi-player^*
PvP^*
LAN PvP^*
Shared/Split Screen PvP^*
Shared/Split Screen^*
Steam Cloud^*
Remote Play Together^*
Family Sharing^*
Local co-op^*

Store genres

RPG^*
Strategy^*

Screenshots

Screenshot 1 from Populous

Screenshot 2 from Populous

Screenshot 3 from Populous

* Provisional data