Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + 3D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 3D Platformer City Builder?

City Builder + 3D Platformer

Of 36 developers who shipped a 3D 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.. 44 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $330 in the last 2 years and $330 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 19 developers shipped in the last year and 44 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 44 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + 3D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $450 → $299 → $1.1k → $8.6k → $779 → $208 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + 3D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $330 (exactly $330)
Top 25% $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 5% $26k (exactly $25,774)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 107
Announced 44
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 50% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
3D Platformer
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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, 3D Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Building, Economy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 389 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $330, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $25k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

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

Citadels 2013 · $169k Real estate tycoon 2022 · EA · $138k A-Train 9 V5.0 : Japan Train Simulator Ultimate Edition 2024 · $43k Sebil Engineering 2023 · $29k Laundry & Supermarket Simulator 2025 · $26k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Citadels older $14.99 375 13% 11k $169k (exactly $168,638) Games Distillery s.r.o.
Real estate tycoon · EA older $10.99 418 63% 13k $138k (exactly $137,815) Double Eggs
A-Train 9 V5.0 : Japan Train Simulator Ultimate Edition $39.99 36 77% 1.1k $43k (exactly $43,189) ARTDINK
Sebil Engineering older $11.99 82 97% 2.5k $29k (exactly $29,495) FrogStore
Laundry & Supermarket Simulator $9.99 86 77% 2.6k $26k (exactly $25,774) SmartPlayGames
Fun Park Simulator · EA $12.99 63 58% 1.9k $25k (exactly $24,551) Flugames
Last Stand: Defense $5.99 116 81% 3.5k $21k (exactly $20,845) ZiiTech Games
Chang'an: The capital of Tang Dynasty older $9.99 58 70% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,383) Romulus
Age of Jura older $9.99 35 74% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Mystic ERA games
Kity Builder $7.99 36 94% 1.1k $8.6k (exactly $8,629) Sambero, irx99, YerayToledano, Juan Hust
LivingForest $15.99 8 62% 240 $3.8k (exactly $3,838) LivingEveryday
Konbini Simulator $4.99 16 37% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) mobaroid
Site Management Simulator · EA $5.99 12 66% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) Wins Games Studio
Hexfactory $4.99 10 60% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Aquila Industrial
Container Terminal Simulator · EA $6.99 6 50% 180 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) Tikam Studio

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