A Hardcore Physics Sandbox About Designing Atomic Devices for the State
Nuclear Design Bureau Game
Nuclear Design Bureau is a hardcore physics sandbox from Design Bureau KB-11, released into Steam Early Access on September 14, 2026 at $9.99 for Windows. You play a junior engineer at the Kurchatov Institute who is handed a target by the State and a warehouse of dangerous materials, then asked to build a device that satisfies the directive — with material limits on some jobs.
- Released
- Sep 14, 2026
- Price
- $9.99 on Steam
- Loop
- Design, simulate, detonate
Sep 14, 2026
Early Access release
Steam lists September 14; SteamDB timestamps the store release at 05:05 UTC on September 15
$9.99
Steam price
Also recorded as the lowest price since release, so there is no sale history to wait for
3
Weeks of patches
A hotfix on September 15, a physics patch on October 1 and a hotfix on October 2
4
Roadmap areas
Physics, campaign, presentation and community features, all listed as subject to change
Media
Trailer and screenshots for Nuclear Design Bureau — click any shot to enlarge.
Header art and screenshots are store-provided official assets (© Design Bureau KB-11), shown for identification.
The Steam store page hosts a single official video titled Early Access Trailer. No second trailer is listed.
Start here
A few pages cover almost everything a new Nuclear Design Bureau player asks in the first hour.
Start the Beginner Guide →- 1
Beginner Guide
The official loop in order: reading a directive, measuring in the criticality lab, designing on the grid, detonating and refining.
- 2
Implosion
How compression and criticality are modelled in-game, plus the casing and layering findings players have reported in the design threads.
- 3
Tips
Save designs through the design files box, keep casing layers thin, re-test after every physics patch, and know the Early Access caveats.
Nuclear Design Bureau guides
Every Nuclear Design Bureau page by section — 8 in total, each compiled from its listed sources.
Devices
2 pagesGame Guides
2 pagesLatest updates
Newest and refreshed pages in this section.
- Nuclear Design Bureau Discord and Community ChannelsIndex
- Nuclear Design Bureau Guide — Directives, Design, Simulation and DetonationGuide
- Nuclear Design Bureau Implosion — Compression, Casing and CriticalityGuide
- Nuclear Design Bureau RDS-1 — The Directive Device and How to Build ItGuide
- Nuclear Design Bureau Release Date and Early Access RoadmapIndex
- Nuclear Design Bureau — How to Save Designs and Game ProgressGuide
FAQ
Answers use only sourced facts; unverified items are marked.
- What is Nuclear Design Bureau?
- It is a hardcore, physics-driven sandbox engineering game from Design Bureau KB-11 in which you play a junior engineer at the Kurchatov Institute. You receive directives from the State, design atomic devices by painting materials onto a blueprint grid, then simulate a full detonation and refine whatever fizzles, fails or wastes material.
- When did it release and what does it cost?
- It launched into Steam Early Access in September 2026 at $9.99 for Windows. The Steam store lists September 14, 2026, while SteamDB timestamps the store release at 05:05 UTC on September 15, 2026. Price trackers record $9.99 as the lowest price since release.
- What is the criticality lab?
- It is a first-person room where you handle the real parts: you set the core in its cradle, lower the beryllium reflector onto it and watch a wall counter while a live Monte Carlo k-effective estimate climbs toward one. The counter lags the way the real instrument would, and radiation exposure shows on the operator instead of in a readout.
- How do I save my designs?
- Use the design files feature. A community answer on the Steam discussions says there is a save box at the bottom of the materials menu under the header design files, and that you load designs again from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen. Steam also lists Save Anytime and Steam Cloud for progress.
Ready to start Nuclear Design Bureau?
Read the beginner guide first, then pick the platform that fits how you play.
Looking for other games? Return to the full game directory.