HARD CHIP
STATUS // EARLY ACCESS PLATFORM // PC / STEAM

HARD CHIP// build processors. from the transistor up.

An open-ended 3D simulation and puzzle game about designing processors. Model propagation delay. Floor-plan every block. Route every trace. Grounded in real chip design - transistors, signals, and timing.

For digital logic students, hobbyists, and hardware engineers.

▶ PLAY ON STEAM → JOIN THE DISCORD →
StatusEarly Access · 2 of 8 chapters out
GenreSimulation · Puzzle · Engineering
Physics modelPropagation delay · Per-gate timing
Build targetsSpeed · Volume · Complexity · Transistors
ContentStory campaign · Gauntlets · Sandbox · Gallery
CommunityDiscord · Reddit · Wiki.gg
FIG. 1 - OFFICIAL GAMEPLAY TRAILER HARD CHIP
EARLY ACCESS // 2 OF 8 CHAPTERS◆ SUBMISSIONS // 190K+◆ STAGES // 70+◆ DISCORD MEMBERS // 400+◆ GAUNTLET SEASONS // 4◆ LANGUAGES // 8◆
/01

// what you will actually do

FEATURE SET
F-01
Hard Chip campaign screenshot
01
Propagation delay
Every gate takes time. Every wire has length. Trace length is volume is delay. Your design is only as fast as its worst path.
F-02
02
Floor planning
Place every NAND, latch, and bus by hand. Create beautiful and intricate designs that push every metric.
Hard Chip floor planning screenshot
F-03
Hard Chip metrics screenshot
03
Multi-metric scoring
Speed (in Ticks). Volume. Complexity (in Blocks). Transistors (in MOS). Pick your trade-off.
F-04
Hard Chip campaign screenshot
04
Story campaign
From the first NOT gate toward your first working CPU - a guided arc where you learn by building. No hand-holding - but every stage teaches exactly one idea.
F-05
05
Gauntlet events
Seasonal events: a run of weekly challenges, each with fresh constraints. Global leaderboards and season-long rankings.
Hard Chip gauntlet screenshot
F-06
06
Community gallery
Browse screenshots of standout community builds and see how top players lay out their chips. Open learning, one chip at a time.
</> 190K+ submissions ☆ 70+ stages
/02

// early access, honestly

2 OF 8 CHAPTERS · IN ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT
CH 01ALU
OUT NOW
CH 02REGISTERS & ALU
OUT NOW
CH 03TO COME
CH 04TO COME
CH 05TO COME
CH 06TO COME
CH 07TO COME
CH 08TO COME
released to come

Hard Chip is in Early Access. The campaign is planned as 8 chapters; the first 2 are playable today, with the rest arriving in updates.

Available now: chapter 1 (the ALU) and chapter 2 (registers & ALU) - 70+ stages - plus the sandbox, community gauntlets, and a gallery of community build screenshots.

Coming next: chapters 3 to 8, still in the works.

Buying now means you get every chapter as it ships - and your feedback on Discord directly shapes what comes next.

/03

// the campaign is a curriculum

STORY MODE · 2 OF 8 CHAPTERS OUT
Sample progress · first stages of chapter 1
01
One in, one out
Basic wire to connect signals
✓ CLEARED
02
The conflict
Shorts are deadly
✓ CLEARED
03
Compliance
Follow the rules
✓ CLEARED
04
Crossing states
Build in 3D
✓ CLEARED
05
Two To One (PMOS)
The foundation of digital logic
● IN PROGRESS
06
Alter ego (NMOS)
The other half of digital logic
◇ LOCKED
07
The Merger
Transistors can be shaped
◇ LOCKED
08
Compacting
Build a NOT gate · 1 NMOS · 1 PMOS
◇ LOCKED
…
70+ stages so far
chapter 1 ends with a working 8-bit ALU of your own
◇ LOCKED
Hard Chip editor workspace

Stages are spec documents, not tutorials. You get a truth table, a set of constraints, and a blank die. Everything between is the game. A perfect solution, a fast one, and a tiny one are three different answers - and the campaign grades all three.

"Before Hard Chip, I did not really understand how transistors worked. With Hard Chip, I understood what they are for, and how you can make calculations with a single idea: let current pass, or do not let it pass." - Arnaud, an early access player

/04

// race the leaderboard

LAST SEASON · OCG V1 · FINAL
OPEN COMMUNITY GAUNTLET V1
Four weekly challenges (Feb–Mar 2026), from multi-gate cells up to a 4-bit AND/OR/XOR/NOT unit. Each design is scored on ticks (40%), blocks, volume and transistors (20% each), normalized 0–100. Weekly ranks earn points that add up across the season.
WEEKS
4
PLAYERS
14
BEST WK4 TIME
1,329 ticks
CHAMPION
simon1283491
SEE FULL RESULTS →
RK
PLAYER
POINTS
WEEKS
1
simon1283491
34.0
4
2
hallojasper
30.0
3
3
Gavaldor
24.5
4
4
RebelMike
20.9
4
5
tyrnid
19.4
4
6
falken
16.3
4
7
miklesh
11.0
2
/06

// come build with us

COMMUNITY · WELCOME

Hard Chip started on itch.io as one person's attempt to answer a simple question: what does a CPU actually feel like to build?

The people who kept showing up were students, hobbyists, hardware engineers, ex-EE professors, and curious strangers. They help each other, write the wiki, and have translated the game into 8 languages.

If you're staring down a digital logic course, or you've always wanted to know what an adder is really doing, or you just like making elegant things out of simple parts - there's a seat for you here.

- Elorth SOLO DEV · HARD CHIP
// REAL-TIME
Discord
devlogs, help, circuit reviews
Join 400+
// LONG-FORM
r/hardchip
showcases, breakdowns, memes
Browse
// REFERENCE
Wiki.gg
every gate, spec, & chapter guide
Read
// VIDEO
YouTube
devlogs & circuit teardowns
Watch
// CONTRIBUTE
Localization
8 languages & counting
Open PR
// SMALL UPDATES
Bluesky
@elorth · #hardchipgame
Follow

// GO BUILD A CHIP

Hard Chip is in Early Access and in active development. Play it now - and if it clicks, leave a review. It is how a small, strange, very sincere game about silicon gets found.

▶ PLAY ON STEAM → JOIN THE DISCORD →
// TWEAKS
0