Games › Base Building › Base Building + Capitalism
Should I ship a Capitalist Base Building game?
Base Building + Capitalism
Of 99 developers who shipped a Capitalist 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.. 135 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.8k, ×12 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $640k, ×1021 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 135 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.8k (exactly $7,759) |
| Top 25% | $51k (exactly $50,718) |
| Top 5% | $641k (exactly $641,446) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 99 |
| Released games | 175 |
| Announced | 135 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 down 45% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Capitalism
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Base Building; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Economy, Management, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 24,946 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 6 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 135 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Base Building with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ProgrammingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
- + SailingPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + UndergroundPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
Fallout 76 2020 · $94M 
Prison Architect 2015 · $54M 
Eco 2018 · EA · $10M 
Airport CEO 2021 · $5.8M 
Mad Games Tycoon 2 2023 · $5.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Fallout 76 | older | $39.99 | 78,346 74% | 2.4M | $94M (exactly $93,991,696) | Bethesda Game Studios |
| | Prison Architect | older | $29.99 | 59,802 89% | 1.8M | $54M (exactly $53,803,859) | Introversion Software, Double Eleven |
| | Eco | · EA older | $29.99 | 11,375 80% | 341k | $10M (exactly $10,234,088) | Strange Loop Games |
| | Airport CEO | older | $24.99 | 7,752 83% | 233k | $5.8M (exactly $5,811,674) | Apog Labs |
| | Mad Games Tycoon 2 | older | $24.99 | 7,355 93% | 221k | $5.5M (exactly $5,514,044) | Eggcode |
 | Waterpark Simulator | $12.99 | 13,280 96% | 398k | $5.2M (exactly $5,175,216) | CayPlay | |
 | Rise of Industry | older | $29.99 | 3,122 74% | 94k | $2.8M (exactly $2,808,863) | Dapper Penguin Studios |
 | Startup Company | older | $12.99 | 5,853 81% | 176k | $2.3M (exactly $2,280,914) | Hovgaard Games |
 | Saleblazers | · EA older | $29.99 | 1,974 78% | 59k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) | AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE |
 | Academia : School Simulator | older | $19.99 | 2,846 85% | 85k | $1.7M (exactly $1,706,746) | Squeaky Wheel Studio Inc |
 | Wrap House Simulator🌯 | $14.99 | 2,951 87% | 89k | $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065) | Broken Lyre Entertainment, Wendigo Games | |
 | Sintopia | $34.99 | 951 80% | 29k | $998k (exactly $998,265) | Piraknights Games | |
 | The Walking Trade | $11.99 | 2,733 86% | 82k | $983k (exactly $983,060) | Microwave Games | |
 | Ore Factory Squad ⛏️ | $12.99 | 1,646 87% | 49k | $641k (exactly $641,446) | threeW | |
 | Ale Abbey - Monastery Brewery Tycoon | $14.99 | 1,279 88% | 38k | $575k (exactly $575,166) | Hammer & Ravens | |
 | Movies Tycoon | $29.99 | 545 70% | 16k | $490k (exactly $490,336) | PixelCraze s.r.o. | |
 | Farm Manager World | $19.99 | 605 68% | 18k | $363k (exactly $362,818) | Cleversan Games | |
 | Hotel Magnate | $19.99 | 419 58% | 13k | $251k (exactly $251,274) | Arcade Oven | |
 | Factory Outlet Simulator | $10.99 | 537 74% | 16k | $177k (exactly $177,049) | PISHO |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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