Game guide

How to Play

Empire Investor is an idle investment simulation. Tap to earn cash, upgrade your income, buy stocks and funds, collect quarterly dividends and grow your net worth into a full financial empire.

Getting started

1. Enter a player name on first launch.
2. Follow the short in-game coach prompts — they advance automatically as you play (tap → shop → invest → quarters).
3. Check the Next Objective card and Empire Journal on the Player tab for milestones and long-term goals.

The five tabs

Early objectives

The Player tab guides you through five opening milestones:

1. Earn your first $1,000 — keep tapping on the Earn screen.
2. Buy your first stock — open Invest, pick an instrument and buy at least one share.
3. Get your first promotion — buy Job Income level 1 in the Shop.
4. Reach investor level 3 — grow net worth through tapping, upgrades and holdings.
5. Unlock the holding company — reach about $100M net worth to access late-game empire features.

Late-game objectives

After the holding company unlocks, a second objective ladder continues on the Player tab — for example:

• Build a $5M holding-company cash buffer
• Create your first company and earn dividends across five sectors
• Reach investor level 15, then 20
• Take a 10% stake in a mega-cap stock
• Hit $500M and $1B net worth and complete a full fiscal year

Empire Journal

Open Empire Journal from the Player tab to track 16 goals in four categories:

• Sectors — diversify holdings, own mega caps in every sector, hold 10 stocks
• Markets — first dividend, $1M portfolio, survive tax season, pay off a loan
• Empire — unlock HC, create a company, stock $1M treasury, reach $500M net worth
• Career — investor levels 10 and 20, job income level 10, trading desk level 5

Finishing all goals in a category triggers an in-game celebration the first time you complete it.

Earning cash

• Manual taps give immediate cash on the Earn tab.
• Passive income flows every second from upgrades — especially Job Income and other shop items.
• Offline earnings accrue while you are away (capped at 8 hours of passive income).
• When you return after being away, you may see a welcome-back summary with missed passive income and up to two quarters of dividends.

Investing

• Open Invest to explore 90+ instruments — stocks across nine sectors, plus crypto, commodities and FX.
• Tap a stock or fund to view its detail page, price history and recent news.
• Buy shares with available cash. Your positions appear under Portfolio.
• Market prices refresh about every 8 seconds while the app is active.
• Watch the news feed and trade tape — headlines and market scenarios can shift sentiment and activity.

Quarters, dividends and taxes

• Time moves in quarters. A quarter timer is shown on the Earn screen.
• At quarter end, eligible holdings pay dividends into your cash balance.
• Quarterly and annual reports summarize your performance. Tax days can affect your cash — plan ahead.
• Use the dividend optimizer on the Player tab once unlocked to preview and improve payout decisions.

Going further

• Loans — borrow to accelerate growth, but manage repayments to avoid distress or bankruptcy.
• Holding company — unlock at high net worth to manage a portfolio of subsidiaries.
• Create companies — launch your own listed businesses and shape part of the market.
• Sponsor rewards — optional rewarded ads can grant boosts such as a free analyst report or reduced trading fees. At higher investor levels, some sponsor actions no longer require an ad.

Tips

Need more help?

In-app, open Player → Settings → Help for the disclaimer and gameplay notes. For bugs or account questions, see Support.