Game guide

How to Play

Empire Investor is an idle investment simulation. Tap to earn cash, trade a living market, unlock analyst research, run a holding company 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 — it advances as you tap, buy an upgrade, make a trade and complete a quarter.
3. Check Next Objective and Empire Journal on the Player tab for short- and long-term goals.

The six tabs

Contextual cash upgrades

Spend earned cash to improve specific parts of your empire. Each upgrade appears on the tab where it matters:

• Career income — on Earn. Promotes your finance job for higher tap pay and passive salary (many levels).
• Trading desk — on the order ticket when buying or selling. Reduces trading fees per level.
• Market analyst — on stock detail. Level 1 unlocks fundamentals (P/E, revenue, profit, debt, margin). Level 3+ opens the full analyst report with cash-flow trends, catalysts and risks.
• Dividend optimizer — on Portfolio. Shows payout countdown and estimated dividend amounts.

Stock research & trading

• Tap a stock to see price, chart, share structure, analyst summary and fundamentals (when unlocked).
• Holdings can sit in your personal account or your holding company account when the HC is unlocked — choose the account on the order ticket.
• For dividend-paying stocks you own, toggle auto-reinvest dividends per account so payouts buy more shares automatically at quarter end.
• Prices refresh about every 8 seconds while the app is open. News and market scenarios can shift sentiment; quarterly earnings surprises can nudge listed stock prices.
• Outstanding shares are fixed — ownership % does not change when price moves. Rivals and your empire both count against the same supply cap.

Rival funds

Listed stocks are not yours alone. Three fictional institutional rivals hold real shares and compete with your empire for the free float:

• Nordic Apex Capital — growth-focused; tends toward finance, technology and healthcare
• Fjord Value Partners — value-focused; tends toward mining, logistics and energy
• Arctic Growth Fund — dividend-focused; tends toward general, infrastructure and holding-company names

What rivals do in gameplay:

• They start with a stake in many listed companies and buy more each quarter, up to per-fund and total caps.
• Their shares reduce available shares when you buy — you are bidding against them for the float.
• On stock detail, Institutional holders shows total rival ownership. Upgrade Market Analyst to see each fund’s name, % and share count.
• If a single rival reaches 51%+, they block your holding company from running that company’s operations until you outbid them.
• A rival majority triggers a Rival control market event — watch the news ticker on Invest.

Player-founded companies (your own IPOs) are not subject to rival seed stakes.

Tender offers & takeovers

Once your holding company is unlocked, you can raid listed companies — not just found your own.

1. Accumulate via HC — buy shares through your holding company until you hold at least 30% of a listed stock (not your own IPO).
2. Review the tender card — on that stock’s detail page, a Tender offer section appears with shares to buy and estimated cost at a 15% premium over market.
3. Launch the bid — pay from holding company cash. Shares are pulled from rival holdings first, then the public float.
4. Reach 51% — a successful bid that crosses majority control counts as takeover complete. You can then open Company Operations (budgets, R&D, production, spin-off) like a founded subsidiary.

Notes:

• Tender offers are all-or-nothing for the control block — you need enough HC cash for the full purchase.
• If you already control the company (51%+ HC), or a rival already holds majority, the tender offer is not available.
• Ownership milestones (5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, etc.) still appear in the market event feed as you build your position.

Subsidiary operations

When your holding company controls a company — either one you founded or one you took over at 51%+ — open Company Operations from stock detail or the Empire roster:

• Set quarterly budgets, inject capital, invest in production and R&D
• Take capex loans, pay dividends to the HC treasury and spin off when ready
• Quarterly ops drive revenue, expenses and valuation; aggressive marketing can draw competitor news

Early objectives

The Player tab guides you through opening milestones:

1. Earn your first $1,000 — keep tapping on Earn.
2. Buy your first stock — open Invest and purchase at least one share.
3. Get your first promotion — buy Career Income level 1 on Earn.
4. Reach investor level 3 — grow net worth through tapping, upgrades and holdings.
5. Unlock the holding company — reach about $100M net worth (investor level 9) for Empire features.

Late-game objectives

• 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
• Win majority control of a listed company via holding-company stake or tender offer
• Hit $500M and $1B net worth and complete a full fiscal year

Empire Journal

Open Empire Journal from Player 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, career income level 10, trading desk level 5

Completing every goal in a category triggers a one-time in-game celebration.

Quarters, dividends & taxes

• Time moves in quarters — watch the timer on Earn.
• At quarter end, eligible holdings pay dividends (unless auto-reinvested into more shares).
• Quarter reports and annual summaries recap performance. Tax days can reduce cash — plan ahead using the tax preview on Player.
• While away, you earn capped offline passive income (up to 8 hours) and may catch up to two quarters of dividends when you return.

Loans, ads & purchases

• Loans — borrow to accelerate growth; manage repayments to avoid distress or bankruptcy.
• Sponsor rewards — optional rewarded video ads on Earn and Player can grant boosts (e.g. double tap income, free analyst report, lower next trading fee). At higher investor levels some boosts no longer require an ad.
• Return interstitials — after long absences, a full-screen ad may appear unless you purchased ad-free.
• Video tickets — consumable IAP; one ticket skips one rewarded ad when you claim a sponsor boost.
• Ad-free — non-consumable IAP; removes return interstitials. Rewarded ads for optional boosts may still appear if you choose to use them.
• Privacy — where required, Google UMP consent and Apple App Tracking Transparency may be shown before personalized ads. Manage choices in Settings.

Tips

Need more help?

In-app: Player → Settings → Help. For bugs or billing questions, see Support.