Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Artificial Intelligence

Of 102 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 131 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $11k, ×24 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $2.4k. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 131 games are announced against 75 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 23.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 131 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 102
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $2.6k → $2.8k → $4.0k → $175k → $16k → $16k (still earning) → $3.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 102
Bottom 30% $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Median $11k (exactly $11,242)
Top 25% $92k (exactly $92,308)
Top 5% $1.4M (exactly $1,397,441)
Developers, 2 yr 102
Released games 207
Announced 131
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 up 95% on the market, supply 170% 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.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, Realistic
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 64% positive over 89,824 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.4k, median $11k, 1 in 4 over $92k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 6 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 131 games are announced against 75 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  2. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  3. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  4. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  5. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  6. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  7. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  8. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  10. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  11. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  12. + Time TravelFair16 devs · median $600 · 14 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Broken Arrow 2025 · $39M Anno 117: Pax Romana 2025 · $22M Jurassic World Evolution 3 2025 · $20M Starship Troopers: Terran Command 2022 · $8.3M Prehistoric Kingdom 2022 · EA · $5.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Broken Arrow $49.99 25,924 55% 778k $39M (exactly $38,878,223) Steel Balalaika
Anno 117: Pax Romana $59.99 12,150 69% 365k $22M (exactly $21,866,355) Ubisoft Mainz
Jurassic World Evolution 3 $59.99 11,387 93% 342k $20M (exactly $20,493,184) Frontier Developments
Starship Troopers: Terran Command older $29.99 9,214 87% 276k $8.3M (exactly $8,289,836) The Artistocrats
Prehistoric Kingdom · EA older $29.99 5,640 90% 169k $5.1M (exactly $5,074,308) Blue Meridian
The Farmer Was Replaced $9.99 9,116 95% 273k $2.7M (exactly $2,732,065) Timon Herzog
BidKing $2.99 22,238 33% 667k $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) MindSurge Network & Games
AO Tennis 2 older $49.99 1,236 70% 37k $1.9M (exactly $1,853,629) Big Ant Studios
Global Rescue · EA $24.99 1,864 86% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,397,441) PeDePe GbR
Field of Glory: Empires older $39.99 734 81% 22k $881k (exactly $880,580) Ageod
Supermarket Chaos $4.99 3,266 92% 98k $489k (exactly $488,920) BunnyHop
Celestial Empire · EA $19.99 709 89% 21k $425k (exactly $425,187) President Studio
Sunset Motel $18.99 728 77% 22k $415k (exactly $414,742) Efkey Studios
Click and Conquer $4.99 2,442 92% 73k $366k (exactly $365,567) SOCKHOUSE STUDIOS

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