Do I ship it?

GamesAutomobile SimAutomobile Sim + City Builder

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a City Builder Automobile Sim?

Automobile Sim + City Builder

Only 9 developers shipped a City Builder Automobile Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, City Transport Simulator 2026 - Bus & Tram, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $59. 15 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper, while revenue is down 50% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 15 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automobile Sim + City Builder
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $29k → $4.4k → $3.8k
Outcomes for Automobile Sim + City Builder: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,025)
Top 25% $43k (exactly $43,189)
Top 5% $631k (exactly $631,042)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 30
Announced 15
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $10.99

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 50% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Automobile Sim
effort 7 / 10 · low · tyre, suspension and drivetrain simulation
City Builder
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Automobile Sim, City Builder
Price point
$10.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $13.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 22,350 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $43k, 1 in 20 over $630k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Split ScreenStrong odds25 devs · median $5.5k · 14 announced
  2. + Artificial IntelligenceFair19 devs · median $3.0k · 17 announced
  3. + ZombiesFair10 devs · median $2.1k · 8 announced
  4. + IdlerFair9 devs · median $1.6k · 14 announced
  5. + LogicFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  6. + Multiple EndingsLong shot14 devs · median $1.0k · 12 announced
  7. + Score AttackLong shot38 devs · median $898 · 35 announced
  8. + ArcadeLong shot162 devs · median $774 · 180 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds46 devs · median $70k · 60 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds40 devs · median $70k · 54 announced
  11. + AutomationPoor odds13 devs · median $35k · 19 announced
  12. + BuildingPoor odds44 devs · median $24k · 89 announced

All 92 pairs on the Automobile Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Construction Simulator older $24.99 10,606 82% 318k $8.0M (exactly $7,951,318) weltenbauer. Software Entwicklung GmbH
Construction Simulator 2015 older $14.99 4,597 79% 138k $2.1M (exactly $2,067,271) weltenbauer. Software Entwicklung GmbH
TheoTown older $9.99 4,631 94% 139k $1.4M (exactly $1,387,911) Lobby Divinus
City Transport Simulator 2026 - Bus & Tram $39.99 526 73% 16k $631k (exactly $631,042) ViewApp
Subway Builder $39.99 394 59% 12k $473k (exactly $472,682) Colin Miller, EJ Fox, Curran Kelleher,… (Colin Miller, EJ Fox, Curran Kelleher, Nate Maue, Alex Wohlbruck, Piero Maddaleni, Brooks Flannery)
Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator older $12.99 879 64% 26k $343k (exactly $342,546) Geekon
Real estate tycoon · EA older $10.99 418 63% 13k $138k (exactly $137,815) Double Eggs
Tristia:legacy older $59.99 69 89% 2.1k $124k (exactly $124,179) KOGADO STUDIO
Station Manager older $12.99 194 79% 5.8k $76k (exactly $75,602) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
A-Train 9 V5.0 : Japan Train Simulator Ultimate Edition $39.99 36 77% 1.1k $43k (exactly $43,189) ARTDINK
LivingForest $15.99 8 62% 240 $3.8k (exactly $3,838) LivingEveryday
Checkpoint Inc $4.27 8 75% 240 $1.0k (exactly $1,025) Punchers
Man For Takeaway $1.99 3 100% 90 $179 (exactly $179) zjf
Hon Cars $0.99 2 50% 60 $59 (exactly $59) Bolfosu Nalic
Road Place $10.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) ozamiatin
City Taxi Mission $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Instant Games Studio

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