Do I ship it?

GamesBase BuildingBase Building + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cyberpunk Base Building game?

Base Building + Cyberpunk

Of 22 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk 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.. 62 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×4.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×223 the market median. Revenue is up 175% on the market; 62 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 175% on the market, 62 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Base Building + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $6.3k → $718 → $5.8k → $1.2k (still earning) → $9.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Base Building + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,967)
Top 25% $44k (exactly $43,756)
Top 5% $140k (exactly $139,870)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 63
Announced 62
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 175% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Cyberpunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Base Building; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Shooter, Simulation
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Dark Humor
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 3,634 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $43k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Base Building with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Severed Steel older $24.99 8,880 95% 266k $6.7M (exactly $6,657,336) Greylock Studio
ZEPHON $39.99 1,838 83% 55k $2.2M (exactly $2,205,049) Proxy Studios
Industries of Titan older $29.99 1,553 61% 47k $1.4M (exactly $1,397,234) Brace Yourself Games
Dystopika older $6.99 3,413 95% 102k $716k (exactly $715,706) Voids Within
Berserk B.I.T.S $6.99 667 81% 20k $140k (exactly $139,870) BerserkBoy Games
WAR RATS: The Rat em Up $11.99 382 95% 11k $137k (exactly $137,405) wootusart Industries
X-COM: Apocalypse older $4.99 847 89% 25k $127k (exactly $126,796) MicroProse Software, Inc
Blood Running $16.99 198 68% 5.9k $101k (exactly $100,921) Dead Unicorn
Desperate Place $10.99 253 66% 7.6k $83k (exactly $83,414) BruceGalaxy
Space Trader: Merchant Marine older $4.99 450 53% 14k $67k (exactly $67,365) ·
Lower? Higher! $9.99 146 67% 4.4k $44k (exactly $43,756) Unplugged Studio
Midnight Moments $2.99 108 92% 3.2k $9.7k (exactly $9,688) Happy Volcano
Holonoptic $19.95 16 93% 480 $9.6k (exactly $9,576) Glazial
Interstellar Espionage Inc. $11.99 16 87% 480 $5.8k (exactly $5,755) Fancy Raven Games
Comet Tycoon $11.99 10 80% 300 $3.6k (exactly $3,597) CalmFrantix

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