Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Aliens

Of 64 developers who shipped an Alien Resource Management 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.. 144 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×1091 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 144 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 144 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 64
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $959 → $5.6k → $36k → $1.6k → $2.4k → $599 → $5.8k (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 64
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,618)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $18,217)
Top 5% $518k (exactly $518,043)
Developers, 2 yr 64
Released games 165
Announced 144
Effort 4 / 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 65% 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 10,436 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 144 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Resource Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Planet Crafter 2024 · $50M SPORE™ 2008 · $40M Starship Troopers: Terran Command 2022 · $8.3M The Universim 2024 · $7.6M Tower Dominion 2025 · $2.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Planet Crafter older $23.99 68,855 96% 2.1M $50M (exactly $49,554,944) Miju Games
SPORE™ older $19.99 66,871 92% 2.0M $40M (exactly $40,102,539) Maxis™
Starship Troopers: Terran Command older $29.99 9,214 87% 276k $8.3M (exactly $8,289,836) The Artistocrats
The Universim older $29.99 8,465 79% 254k $7.6M (exactly $7,615,960) Crytivo
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
Drill Core $19.99 2,130 84% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,277,361) Hungry Couch Games
Shortest Trip to Earth older $25.99 1,257 76% 38k $980k (exactly $980,083) Interactive Fate
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
The Fermi Paradox · EA older $18.99 956 76% 29k $545k (exactly $544,633) Anomaly Games
Exogate Initiative $24.99 691 75% 21k $518k (exactly $518,043) Xeno Bits
Dead in Antares $19.99 189 77% 5.7k $113k (exactly $113,343) Ishtar Games
Stellar Orphans $16.99 139 71% 4.2k $71k (exactly $70,848) Artifex Parvus
Moduwar · EA $14.99 134 88% 4.0k $60k (exactly $60,260) Biohex Studios
Alien Market Simulator $12.99 124 83% 3.7k $48k (exactly $48,323) Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainme… (Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainment)
Space Chef $14.99 105 73% 3.2k $47k (exactly $47,218) Blue Goo Games
Amberspire $24.99 58 86% 1.7k $43k (exactly $43,483) Lunar Division

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