Games › Building › Building + Capitalism
Should I ship a Capitalist Building game?
Building + Capitalism
Of 224 developers who shipped a Capitalist 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.. 341 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $14k, ×22 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $980k, ×1565 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 341 games are announced against 140 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) |
|---|---|
| Median | $14k (exactly $13,755) |
| Top 25% | $92k (exactly $92,354) |
| Top 5% | $983k (exactly $983,060) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 224 |
| Released games | 418 |
| Announced | 341 |
| 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 50% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 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
- Building; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Economy, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 120,283 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 6 in 10 of the 107 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 341 games are announced against 140 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Building with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + CatsFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Vehicular CombatPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + CrimePoor odds
- + SailingPoor odds
Comparable games
Prison Architect 2015 · $54M 
Supermarket Simulator 2025 · $48M 
Tropico 6 2019 · $24M 
Parkitect 2018 · $6.1M 
Airport CEO 2021 · $5.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Prison Architect | older | $29.99 | 59,802 89% | 1.8M | $54M (exactly $53,803,859) | Introversion Software, Double Eleven |
| | Supermarket Simulator | $19.99 | 79,236 92% | 2.4M | $48M (exactly $47,517,829) | Nokta Games | |
| | Tropico 6 | older | $39.99 | 19,837 88% | 595k | $24M (exactly $23,798,449) | Limbic Entertainment, Realmforge Studios |
| | Parkitect | older | $29.99 | 6,809 94% | 204k | $6.1M (exactly $6,126,057) | Texel Raptor |
| | 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 |
 | Software Inc. | · EA older | $22.99 | 7,576 94% | 227k | $5.2M (exactly $5,225,167) | Coredumping |
 | Waterpark Simulator | $12.99 | 13,280 96% | 398k | $5.2M (exactly $5,175,216) | CayPlay | |
 | Tropico 4 | older | $14.99 | 8,211 91% | 246k | $3.7M (exactly $3,692,487) | Haemimont Games |
 | News Tower | $24.99 | 4,316 94% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,235,705) | Sparrow Night | |
 | Hotel Architect | $29.99 | 1,934 94% | 58k | $1.7M (exactly $1,740,020) | Pathos Interactive | |
 | Recycling Center Simulator | $19.99 | 2,594 84% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,555,622) | Balas Games | |
 | Discounty | $19.99 | 2,322 82% | 70k | $1.4M (exactly $1,392,503) | Crinkle Cut Games | |
 | Get To Work | $12.99 | 3,456 88% | 104k | $1.3M (exactly $1,346,803) | Isto Inc. | |
 | Wrap House Simulator🌯 | $14.99 | 2,951 87% | 89k | $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065) | Broken Lyre Entertainment, Wendigo Games | |
 | Mall Simulator | · EA | $13.99 | 3,139 82% | 94k | $1.3M (exactly $1,317,438) | F13 Games |
 | Tiny Pasture | $5.99 | 7,055 92% | 212k | $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) | CaveLiquid |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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