Games › City Builder › City Builder + Board Game
Should I ship a Board Game City Builder?
City Builder + Board Game
Of 42 developers who shipped a Board Game City Builder 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.. 45 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×412 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 45 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $446 (exactly $446) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $15,285) |
| Top 5% | $259k (exactly $258,543) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 101 |
| Announced | 45 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- City Builder
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Board Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder, Board Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Sandbox, Simulation
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Family Friendly, Stylized
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 3,041 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
City Builder with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + RacingLong shot
- + RomePoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Dorfromantik 2022 · $12M 
dotAGE 2023 · $1.4M 
As Far As The Eye 2020 · $1.2M 
TerraScape 2024 · $930k 
Let Them Trade 2025 · $577k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dorfromantik | older | $13.99 | 27,441 96% | 823k | $12M (exactly $11,516,988) | Toukana Interactive |
| | dotAGE | older | $17.59 | 2,560 94% | 77k | $1.4M (exactly $1,350,912) | Michele Pirovano |
| | As Far As The Eye | older | $24.99 | 1,640 73% | 49k | $1.2M (exactly $1,229,508) | Unexpected |
| | TerraScape | older | $14.99 | 2,068 88% | 62k | $930k (exactly $929,980) | Bitfall Studios |
| | Let Them Trade | $17.99 | 1,070 84% | 32k | $577k (exactly $577,479) | Spaceflower | |
 | Dice Legacy | older | $14.99 | 892 67% | 27k | $401k (exactly $401,132) | DESTINYbit |
 | Isle of Arrows | older | $12.99 | 937 80% | 28k | $365k (exactly $365,149) | Gridpop |
 | Dawnfolk | $14.99 | 664 94% | 20k | $299k (exactly $298,601) | Darenn Keller | |
 | Blood Rage: Digital Edition | older | $19.99 | 477 58% | 14k | $286k (exactly $286,057) | Endava |
 | Dice Kingdoms | older | $14.99 | 580 83% | 17k | $261k (exactly $260,826) | Fivemid Studio |
 | Preserve | $12.49 | 690 92% | 21k | $259k (exactly $258,543) | Bitmap Galaxy | |
 | River Towns | $14.99 | 184 89% | 5.5k | $83k (exactly $82,745) | Frogsong Studios | |
 | Amberspire | $24.99 | 58 86% | 1.7k | $43k (exactly $43,483) | Lunar Division | |
 | 仙之气 | · EA | $10.99 | 114 74% | 3.4k | $38k (exactly $37,586) | 按键工坊 |
 | Islantiles | $14.99 | 61 90% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $27,432) | Thunderrock Innovations | |
 | Qianli: The Vastscape Scroll | $9.99 | 79 86% | 2.4k | $24k (exactly $23,676) | Betobe Studio | |
 | Wild City | $9.99 | 63 88% | 1.9k | $19k (exactly $18,881) | Monka Studios | |
 | EVERDAWN | $9.99 | 58 98% | 1.7k | $17k (exactly $17,383) | SOLIDS Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.