The topic This $1,000 Steam game has no gameplay, but its developer insists that’s the… is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
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If you have $1,000 burning a hole in your pocket, I have the perfect game for you: Congratulations on Your Purchase. The title, which seems to be an elaborate joke or some absurd way to flex on your friends, costs an absolutely astounding $1,000.
For that expensive price tag, you get no gameplay and visuals that look like they’re almost entirely AI-generated. What a steal. All you do is walk up a red carpet and leave your name on a wall, which every player after you can see. Oh, and even better, the entire experience lasts only 10 minutes. In case you thought the price was a mistake, don’t worry, it isn’t. Congratulations on Your Purchase’s Steam page insists the game “is not a mistake. It is the point.”
The game’s (I use that term loosely) Steam store page is littered with weird errors, and I can’t tell whether they’re deliberate and part of the joke, or just lazy formatting. Congratulations on Your Purchase’s developer is listed as Minimum Viable Prestige, and the publisher is called Worth It Studio. Unsurprisingly, this is the first game from both the developer and publisher.
There’s also an AI disclosure stating that generative AI was used to create store artwork, but it claims the game doesn’t feature AI content (I’m not sure I really believe that). There’s also no user review for Congratulations on Your Purchase, though I’m sure they’re coming — and I bet they won’t be very positive. Lastly, the game’s SteamDB listing shows that there are zero concurrent players.
Here’s more justification for the game’s existence, courtesy of Minimum Viable Prestige:
“You paid for this. Not accidentally. Not on impulse. You saw the price. You read the description. And then you bought it anyway. Welcome. There is no combat. There are no enemies. There are no quests, no skill trees, no loot boxes — well, there is one box, but it contains only the feeling of having arrived somewhere important. You will walk. You will look. You will leave something behind. That is all. That is everything.”
I have to admit that description is kind of funny, even though I can’t imagine anyone buying this game for any reason. All you’re buying is your name on a wall and basically nothing else, all for the low price of $1,000. Still, it’s an interesting social experiment in some ways. I imagine there’s someone out there ridiculous enough to drop a grand on a game just to stunt on their friends.