Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer City Builder?

City Builder + 2D Platformer

Of 34 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer City Builder in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 38 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $37k, ×60 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 38 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 38 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $299 → $180 → $3.6k → $8.4k → $8.7k → $1.0k → $1.3k (still earning) → $779 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $8.4k (exactly $8,392)
Top 5% $38k (exactly $37,586)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 122
Announced 38
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 60% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

City Builder
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
City Builder, 2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Building
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,925 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $8.3k, 1 in 20 over $37k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 7 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

City Builder with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Visual NovelStrong odds10 devs · median $19k · 8 announced
  2. + LogicFair58 devs · median $3.3k · 74 announced
  3. + IncrementalFair75 devs · median $1.3k · 96 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair16 devs · median $1.3k · 20 announced
  5. + ArcadeFair28 devs · median $898 · 27 announced
  6. + RacingLong shot12 devs · median $299 · 9 announced
  7. + RomePoor odds9 devs · median $423k · 10 announced
  8. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 25 announced
  9. + HorrorPoor odds10 devs · median $157k · 21 announced
  10. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds17 devs · median $146k · 50 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds32 devs · median $118k · 55 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds26 devs · median $108k · 47 announced

All 136 pairs on the City Builder page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Actraiser Renaissance 2021 · $637k Game Dev Story 2022 · $390k BM General Hospital 2025 · $328k Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story 2024 · $281k Dungeon Village 2022 · $224k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Actraiser Renaissance older $29.99 708 74% 21k $637k (exactly $636,988) Square Enix, Sonic Powered
Game Dev Story older $8.99 1,445 89% 43k $390k (exactly $389,716) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
BM General Hospital $7.99 1,368 86% 41k $328k (exactly $327,910) zzzgame
Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story $19.99 468 98% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Dungeon Village older $8.99 829 88% 25k $224k (exactly $223,581) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Dream Town Island older $12.99 490 95% 15k $191k (exactly $190,953) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Dungeon Village 2 older $8.99 662 86% 20k $179k (exactly $178,541) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Cafe Master Story older $12.99 378 96% 11k $147k (exactly $147,307) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
High Sea Saga DX older $8.99 501 81% 15k $135k (exactly $135,120) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
The Sushi Spinnery older $8.99 411 92% 12k $111k (exactly $110,847) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Demon Castle Story $12.99 257 77% 7.7k $100k (exactly $100,153) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
BM Love Cafe $7.99 204 77% 6.1k $49k (exactly $48,899) zzzgame
Heian City Story $8.99 164 85% 4.9k $44k (exactly $44,231) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
仙之气 · EA $10.99 114 74% 3.4k $38k (exactly $37,586) 按键工坊
Cavern Adventurers $8.99 117 48% 3.5k $32k (exactly $31,555) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Pro Wrestler Story $8.99 109 49% 3.3k $29k (exactly $29,397) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Heroic Songs: the Remix! $16.99 56 92% 1.7k $29k (exactly $28,543) Emma Create
Skyship Quest Story $12.99 68 52% 2.0k $27k (exactly $26,500) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.