Do I ship it?

GamesActionAction + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Resource Management Action game?

Action + Resource Management

Of 475 developers who shipped a Resource Management Action game 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.. 1,101 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×661 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 1,101 games are announced against 306 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 1,101 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 475
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.8k → $1.8k → $1.0k → $449 → $1.3k → $1.2k → $2.6k (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 475
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,171)
Top 5% $415k (exactly $414,992)
Developers, 2 yr 475
Released games 1,019
Announced 1,101
Effort 5 / 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 up 80% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Resource Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Strategy, Simulation
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 123,077 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $410k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 195 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,101 games are announced against 306 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Resident Evil 4 older $39.99 186,701 97% 5.6M $224M (exactly $223,985,190) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Cities: Skylines older $29.99 220,465 92% 6.6M $198M (exactly $198,352,360) Colossal Order
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition older $34.99 158,931 94% 4.8M $167M (exactly $166,829,871) World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Captur… (World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, CaptureAge, Tantalus Media, Wicked Witch, Feral Interactive)
Jurassic World Evolution 2 older $59.99 39,644 90% 1.2M $71M (exactly $71,347,307) Frontier Developments
Jurassic World Evolution older $44.99 48,311 87% 1.4M $65M (exactly $65,205,357) Frontier Developments
Age of Empires II (Retired) older $19.99 84,818 95% 2.5M $51M (exactly $50,865,355) Skybox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment,… (Skybox Labs, Hidden Path Entertainment, Ensemble Studios, Forgotten Empires)
Jurassic World Evolution 3 $59.99 11,387 93% 342k $20M (exactly $20,493,184) Frontier Developments
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Stronghold Crusader 2 older $39.99 12,619 73% 379k $15M (exactly $15,139,014) Firefly Studios
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
CloverPit $9.99 24,710 90% 741k $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) Panik Arcade
Forever Skies $29.99 8,138 78% 244k $7.3M (exactly $7,321,759) Far From Home
Gamble With Your Friends $7.99 18,883 89% 566k $4.5M (exactly $4,526,255) TEAM GWYF
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
Grocery Store Simulator $14.99 5,337 90% 160k $2.4M (exactly $2,400,049) EXPERIMENT ONE
Sandustry · EA $14.99 4,805 97% 144k $2.2M (exactly $2,160,808) Lantto Games
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games

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