Bandit Simulator TD: Rob Merchants, Become the Taxman
Bandit Simulator TD launched on Steam for PC on October 12, 2026, and apparently robbing merchants is just the beginning of your criminal career. You establish a bandit stronghold, ambush travellers, plunder cities and recruit characters to do your dirty work. Eventually, you can besiege entire cities, capture their governors, throw them in prison, appoint officials and collect taxes from conquered territory.
The full release introduces prison, siege and occupation systems, alongside an expanded technology tree. One warning for returning players: demo saves won't transfer to the full game because the underlying data structure has changed.
At first glance, this looks like another tower defence game with some management thrown in. Except someone has decided that the logical next step after highway robbery is to establish a functioning government. And annoyingly, I can see the reasoning.
Already planning your next criminal career? Our 25 Best Crime Games ranks everything from petty theft to organised empires. Because apparently one lifetime of respectable employment is punishment enough.
Why rob merchants when you can tax the entire city?
You recruit characters, position them to attack enemies, gather resources and produce materials, then use the proceeds to improve your stronghold. Early on, that means ambushing travellers and plundering cities. Eventually, however, Bandit Simulator TD introduces city occupation. Once you've maximised Fame across a city's floors, an occupation challenge becomes available. Conquer the city, appoint officials and start collecting taxes.
Interestingly, the developer specifically identified taxation as a response to complaints about insufficient coins in earlier versions. Your bandit organisation has a money problem. Robbing people apparently isn't generating enough income, so the solution is to conquer a city and start collecting taxes from its inhabitants. That's fucking brilliant. You've essentially discovered why governments don't bother hiding behind trees and threatening passing merchants. Far too much effort for unpredictable returns. Why rob one man when you can arrange for an entire city to pay you regularly?
Of course, we don't yet know how detailed the taxation system is. There is no verified evidence of elaborate fiscal policies or complex political decision-making. It could be fairly straightforward income generation. But I rather enjoy the progression. You begin as a criminal stealing money from the establishment, only to discover that the establishment has spent centuries perfecting the same business model.
The difference is that they issue receipts.
Your governor has been promoted to prisoner
City occupation also introduces captured governors. According to the developer, governors can be imprisoned and eventually recruited into your organisation, provided your stronghold meets the necessary level requirements.
Now, recruitment is usually a fairly civilised affair. You advertise a vacancy, interview candidates, offer an insulting salary and explain that your organisation values work-life balance while expecting everyone to answer emails at eleven in the evening. Bandit Simulator TD appears to have simplified the procedure. First, conquer the candidate's city. Then remove him from office and put him in prison. Once your stronghold meets the requirements, he may become eligible to join.
I'd love to see that employment contract. Does he retain his seniority? Is there a probationary period? And how exactly do you explain your reason for leaving your previous employer when the person conducting the interview is responsible for your imprisonment?
The mechanics may be considerably simpler than this administrative nightmare suggests. There's insufficient independent late-game evidence to judge how elaborate prisoner management really is. Still, potentially turning captured governors into members of your own organisation is an interesting addition to the usual conquest formula.
Enjoy exploiting entire cities for profit? Car Park Capital lets you demolish neighbourhoods, spread propaganda and deploy riot police to protect your parking empire. Somehow, the bandits seem more respectable.
A criminal organisation where everyone is a tower
Despite all this conquest, Bandit Simulator TD remains fundamentally a tower defence game with idle management and RPG progression. Recruited characters function as stationary towers, attacking enemies rather than roaming around under direct control. The same underlying concept extends to gathering materials and crafting, so developing your stronghold involves assigning characters to different activities.
You're organising the people who do the work. Which is probably a more realistic portrayal of running a criminal empire anyway. Eventually, the person in charge stops personally assaulting merchants and starts worrying about whether the production department has enough materials.
There's also a substantial Chinese fantasy element involving legendary characters, spiritual creatures, elixirs and cultivation systems. Apparently building a criminal empire, imprisoning government officials and establishing taxation still leaves room to pursue supernatural advancement. Although eternal life would be handy when you've developed an organisation that depends on endlessly collecting other people's money.
What's new, and is it worth playing?
The full release adds prison, siege and occupation systems, alongside expanded technology progression. Earlier development updates also addressed complaints about recruitment, equipment management, resource gathering and awkward enemy movement during city challenges. Those are encouraging changes, but they don't prove every issue has been resolved.
The game has only just launched. We don't yet know how satisfying the occupation systems are, whether progression becomes repetitive or how well everything works together. There's a substantial difference between managing conquered territory and pressing a button every few minutes to collect coins.
Bandit Simulator TD is worth investigating if you enjoy criminal-management games, tower defence and progression systems, although its actual quality still needs proper evaluation. It's available on Steam for Windows PC, with English and Chinese language support.
What interests me most is how naturally its criminal progression leads towards running the institutions you're supposed to be robbing. First you're ambushing merchants for spare coins. Eventually, you're appointing officials, collecting taxes and deciding whether the governor you've imprisoned might make a useful employee.
At which point I have to wonder whether you're still playing as a bandit, or whether you've simply become a politician with a more transparent recruitment policy.
Why stop at being a bandit when you could become an absolute menace to civilisation? Explore CRIMENET's Playable Villains for more games where you're the reason everyone else needs a hero.
Bandit Simulator TD FAQ
When was Bandit Simulator TD released?
Bandit Simulator TD launched on October 12, 2026, for Windows PC via Steam.
Can you transfer your demo save to the full game?
No. Demo saves are incompatible with the full release because the developer changed the underlying data structure. You'll have to start again. Apparently even bandits can't escape IT problems.
Can you conquer cities in Bandit Simulator TD?
Yes. Once you've maximised Fame across a city's floors, you can unlock an occupation challenge. Conquered cities introduce taxation and official appointments.
Can you capture and recruit governors?
Yes. Governors can be captured, imprisoned and eventually recruited into your organisation once the necessary stronghold-level requirements are met. Quite an aggressive hiring policy.
Is Bandit Simulator TD an open-world game?
No. It's primarily a tower defence and management game with idle and RPG progression. Characters function as stationary towers rather than freely controlled adventurers.
Is Bandit Simulator TD worth playing?
The criminal-management premise looks promising, particularly the occupation, taxation and prisoner systems. However, it's too early to judge their actual depth or the game's long-term quality.
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