Games › Base Building › Base Building + Loot
Should I ship a Loot Base Building game?
Base Building + Loot
Of 68 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 153 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.1k, ×9.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×1136 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 153 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.1k (exactly $6,110) |
| Top 25% | $98k (exactly $97,751) |
| Top 5% | $714k (exactly $713,643) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 68 |
| Released games | 140 |
| Announced | 153 |
| 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 85% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Loot
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Base Building, Loot; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, RPG
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 26,153 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 153 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Base Building with a different second tag, 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
SurrounDead 2022 · EA · $8.8M 
ZERO Sievert 2024 · $8.6M 
DYSMANTLE 2021 · $6.6M 
War for the Overworld 2015 · $5.8M 
NORSE: Oath of Blood 2026 · $2.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SurrounDead | · EA older | $11.99 | 24,538 91% | 736k | $8.8M (exactly $8,826,319) | Zurvivor |
| | ZERO Sievert | $19.99 | 14,378 84% | 431k | $8.6M (exactly $8,622,487) | CABO Studio | |
| | DYSMANTLE | older | $19.99 | 11,022 91% | 331k | $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) | 10tons Ltd |
| | War for the Overworld | older | $29.99 | 6,495 85% | 195k | $5.8M (exactly $5,843,552) | Brightrock Games |
| | NORSE: Oath of Blood | $34.99 | 2,535 56% | 76k | $2.7M (exactly $2,660,990) | Arctic Hazard | |
 | Wild Terra 2: New Lands | older | $39.99 | 1,379 62% | 41k | $1.7M (exactly $1,654,386) | Juvty Worlds |
 | DeadPoly | · EA older | $9.99 | 5,384 78% | 162k | $1.6M (exactly $1,613,585) | TFL Games |
 | DUCKSIDE | · EA | $14.99 | 2,692 72% | 81k | $1.2M (exactly $1,210,592) | tinyBuild Riga |
 | The Lost Village | older | $11.99 | 2,743 70% | 82k | $987k (exactly $986,657) | FunYoo Games |
 | Lay of the Land | $19.99 | 1,190 79% | 36k | $714k (exactly $713,643) | Southern Cross Interactive | |
 | GRAIN ROT | $9.99 | 1,845 88% | 55k | $553k (exactly $552,946) | Beck & Branch Games | |
 | Beyond the Map | · EA | $19.99 | 764 77% | 23k | $458k (exactly $458,171) | Glitch Goblins |
 | Survive the Fall | $24.99 | 590 65% | 18k | $442k (exactly $442,323) | Angry Bulls Studio | |
 | holoVillage: Our Cozy Days | $24.99 | 518 83% | 16k | $388k (exactly $388,345) | Roboqlo | |
 | Sineus Arena Survivors | $10.99 | 1,150 77% | 35k | $379k (exactly $379,155) | Sineus Games | |
 | Darfall | $24.99 | 491 71% | 15k | $368k (exactly $368,103) | SquareNite |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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