Do I ship it?

Games › Base Building › Base Building + Arcade

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Arcade Base Building game?

Base Building + Arcade

Of 68 developers who shipped an Arcade Base Building 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.. 102 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $730k, ×1167 the market median. Revenue is up 175% on the market; 102 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 175% on the market, 102 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Base Building + Arcade
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 68
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $958 → $1.3k → $179 → $239 → $150 → $719 → $2.4k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Base Building + Arcade: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 68
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $716 (exactly $716)
Top 25% $7.5k (exactly $7,485)
Top 5% $733k (exactly $733,045)
Developers, 2 yr 68
Released games 166
Announced 102
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.00

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 175% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Base Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Base Building, Arcade; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Building, Action
Price point
$5.00 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 63,229 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $720, 1 in 4 over $7.4k, 1 in 20 over $730k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 102 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + ProgrammingFair13 devs · median $53k · 21 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair12 devs · median $13k · 19 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair61 devs · median $540 · 67 announced
  4. + DiplomacyPoor odds19 devs · median $520k · 47 announced
  5. + SailingPoor odds9 devs · median $356k · 38 announced
  6. + Dating SimPoor odds19 devs · median $128k · 21 announced
  7. + TrainsPoor odds19 devs · median $113k · 47 announced
  8. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds20 devs · median $73k · 35 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds130 devs · median $72k · 262 announced
  10. + UndergroundPoor odds12 devs · median $65k · 71 announced
  11. + MarsPoor odds15 devs · median $58k · 28 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds81 devs · median $58k · 175 announced

All 175 pairs on the Base Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Starship Troopers: Extermination 2024 · $27M BALL x PIT 2025 · $11M Global Rescue 2026 · EA · $1.4M Patch Quest 2023 · $925k Monsters are Coming! 2025 · $733k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Starship Troopers: Extermination $29.99 29,724 80% 892k $27M (exactly $26,742,683) Offworld
BALL x PIT $14.99 24,714 95% 741k $11M (exactly $11,113,886) Kenny Sun and Friends
Global Rescue · EA $24.99 1,864 86% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,397,441) PeDePe GbR
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
Sineus Arena Survivors $10.99 1,150 77% 35k $379k (exactly $379,155) Sineus Games
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games
Dwarf Eats Mountain $9.99 1,114 80% 33k $334k (exactly $333,866) Green Wizard
GIBZ older $5.99 1,321 88% 40k $237k (exactly $237,384) Torrunt
Arcade Tycoon ™ : Simulation Game older $14.99 452 80% 14k $203k (exactly $203,264) Squidpunch Studios, Vincent Ltd
Camping Simulator: The Squad $4.99 881 57% 26k $132k (exactly $131,886) CubeCube Sports Ltd.
Crime Shop Simulator: A Prison Boss Game $19.99 157 85% 4.7k $94k (exactly $94,153) TREBUCHET
Ash & Adam's Existential Treads $6.99 340 92% 10k $71k (exactly $71,298) Ash & Adam's Games

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