Do I ship it?

GamesCity BuilderCity Builder + Agriculture

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Agriculture City Builder?

City Builder + Agriculture

Of 40 developers who shipped an Agriculture 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.. 64 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×5.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $900k, ×1436 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 64 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 64 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Agriculture
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $29k → $4.7k → $4.4k → $14k → $7.8k → $7.0k → $3.0k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Agriculture: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $839 (exactly $839)
Median $3.5k (exactly $3,466)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $35,526)
Top 5% $902k (exactly $901,949)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 135
Announced 64
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 55% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Agriculture
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, Agriculture; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Building
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 28,021 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $840, median $3.5k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $900k.

3 in 10 developers made under $840. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Farthest Frontier $34.99 24,444 86% 733k $26M (exactly $25,658,867) Crate Entertainment
Captain of Industry · EA older $34.99 11,027 90% 331k $12M (exactly $11,575,042) MaFi Games
Ostriv · EA older $24.99 6,866 94% 206k $5.1M (exactly $5,147,440) yevhen8
Settlement Survival older $21.49 7,703 85% 231k $5.0M (exactly $4,966,124) Gleamer Studio
Fabledom older $20.99 6,772 85% 203k $4.3M (exactly $4,264,328) Grenaa Games
Littlewood older $14.99 6,083 93% 182k $2.7M (exactly $2,735,525) Sean Young
Cartel Tycoon older $29.99 2,822 75% 85k $2.5M (exactly $2,538,953) Moon Moose
Automation Empire older $29.99 2,584 65% 78k $2.3M (exactly $2,324,825) DOG HOGGLER
Autonauts older $19.99 3,596 90% 108k $2.2M (exactly $2,156,521) Denki
Thriving City: Song older $18.99 3,054 81% 92k $1.7M (exactly $1,739,864) White Star Studio
Havendock $19.99 1,504 81% 45k $902k (exactly $901,949) YYZ Studio
Farm Manager World $19.99 605 68% 18k $363k (exactly $362,818) Cleversan Games
Japanese Rural Life Adventure $24.99 238 80% 7.1k $178k (exactly $178,429) G-MODE, GAME START LLC
Rise of Industry 2 $34.99 154 55% 4.6k $162k (exactly $161,654) SomaSim
Feastopia $13.99 211 77% 6.3k $89k (exactly $88,557) White Star Studio
Goblin Camp $19.99 118 76% 3.5k $71k (exactly $70,765) Korppi Games Ltd
Colonize $9.99 192 39% 5.8k $58k (exactly $57,542) Rembrosoft
Desk Garden $2.99 476 84% 14k $43k (exactly $42,697) Siesta Studio
Island Paradise $14.99 79 77% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,526) GSG

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