Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Building

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Building

Only 11 developers shipped a Building Class-Based game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Tower Dominion, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×3.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $4.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.6M, ×1792 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 31 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 31 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Building
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.3k → $63k → $1.3k → $223k → $27k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Building: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $4.5k (exactly $4,549)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,095)
Top 25% $34k (exactly $34,183)
Top 5% $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 36
Announced 31
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Class-Based, Building
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,045 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $4.6k, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $34k, 1 in 20 over $2.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $4.6k. 3 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds18 devs · median $33k · 44 announced
  8. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  11. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  12. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Tower Dominion 2025 · $2.7M Dungeon Defenders: Awakened 2020 · $1.5M One Military Camp 2023 · $513k Robber Knight 2022 · EA · $341k Cube Chaos 2025 · $223k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tower Dominion $17.49 5,117 85% 154k $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) Parallel 45 Games
Dungeon Defenders: Awakened older $14.99 3,264 67% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,467,821) Chromatic Games
One Military Camp older $24.99 684 75% 21k $513k (exactly $512,795) Abylight Barcelona
Robber Knight · EA older $39.99 284 64% 8.5k $341k (exactly $340,715) Sartorian
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Tiny Tactics older $9.99 661 82% 20k $198k (exactly $198,102) Tiny Forge Gaming
Zombie Builder Defense 2 older $9.99 210 84% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,937) Noham Games
Yuma Nest · EA $19.99 57 89% 1.7k $34k (exactly $34,183) Piokou
Rebirth evolution older $8.99 125 61% 3.8k $34k (exactly $33,712) 异界游网络科技
Wool at the Gates $8.99 100 92% 3.0k $27k (exactly $26,970) Okay Creature
Next Run $9.99 66 75% 2.0k $20k (exactly $19,780) Clarus Victoria
Dawnhold $9.99 17 100% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Alex Spalvieri
UNSEEN LAND: INTO THE MIST · EA $13.99 12 41% 360 $5.0k (exactly $5,036) NetOps Inc.
Hang up Street $3.99 38 50% 1.1k $4.5k (exactly $4,549) FoxGame
Beyond The Threshold $4.99 13 92% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) William Ritson
Citadels - Shadow City $3.99 4 50% 120 $479 (exactly $479) SERGEI MIRONOV

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