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Should I ship a Shop Keeper Base Building game?
Base Building + Shop Keeper
Of 52 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper 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.. 91 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 $5.9k, ×9.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×449 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 91 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $898 (exactly $898) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.9k (exactly $5,872) |
| Top 25% | $57k (exactly $56,637) |
| Top 5% | $282k (exactly $281,723) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 52 |
| Released games | 63 |
| Announced | 91 |
| 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 95% on the market, supply 320% 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
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Base Building, Shop Keeper; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Relaxing, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 5,237 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 4 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 91 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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
Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 2024 · $1.8M 
Saleblazers 2023 · EA · $1.8M 
Another Brick in The Mall 2020 · $1.2M 
Blood Bar Tycoon 2025 · $464k 
Rise of Gun 2024 · $426k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 | older | $14.99 | 4,018 91% | 121k | $1.8M (exactly $1,806,895) | One More Time |
| | Saleblazers | · EA older | $29.99 | 1,974 78% | 59k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) | AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE |
| | Another Brick in The Mall | older | $16.99 | 2,340 83% | 70k | $1.2M (exactly $1,192,698) | The Quadsphere |
| | Blood Bar Tycoon | $19.99 | 773 79% | 23k | $464k (exactly $463,568) | Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickst… (Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickster Productions) | |
| | Rise of Gun | older | $12.99 | 1,094 84% | 33k | $426k (exactly $426,332) | PimpGameStudio |
 | Fuel Harvest Together | $13.99 | 879 69% | 26k | $369k (exactly $368,916) | Say2Sun | |
 | SkyBrew: Entropic Strategist | $17.99 | 522 75% | 16k | $282k (exactly $281,723) | ATRIC Games | |
 | Returns Outlet Simulator | · EA | $9.99 | 921 95% | 28k | $276k (exactly $276,024) | Twisted Twice Games |
 | Factory Outlet Simulator | $10.99 | 537 74% | 16k | $177k (exactly $177,049) | PISHO | |
 | Cozy Keep: Farm, Craft, Manage | · EA | $14.99 | 315 93% | 9.5k | $142k (exactly $141,656) | Unbossed Games |
 | Immoral-Bathhouse | $8.99 | 476 80% | 14k | $128k (exactly $128,377) | 奶油貓工作室, バター貓スタジオ | |
 | Tailor Simulator | · EA | $9.99 | 406 90% | 12k | $122k (exactly $121,678) | Zoady |
 | Campsite Hustle! - Management Simulator | · EA | $14.99 | 251 73% | 7.5k | $113k (exactly $112,875) | Red Shore Games |
 | Crime Shop Simulator: A Prison Boss Game | $19.99 | 157 85% | 4.7k | $94k (exactly $94,153) | TREBUCHET |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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