Games › Building › Building + Dwarves
Should I ship a Dwarf Building game?
Building + Dwarves
Only 14 developers shipped a Dwarf Building 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, Orebound, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $31k, ×49 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $700k, ×1128 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 22 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
|---|---|
| Median | $31k (exactly $30,869) |
| Top 25% | $233k (exactly $233,283) |
| Top 5% | $708k (exactly $708,466) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 32 |
| Announced | 22 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 100% on the market, supply 265% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Building; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Resource Management, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cozy, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 4,705 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 22 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
Dwarf Fortress 2022 · $26M 
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria™ 2024 · $9.2M 
Craft The World 2014 · $8.6M 
SpellForce 3 Reforced 2017 · $6.9M 
KeeperRL 2024 · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dwarf Fortress | older | $29.99 | 29,303 94% | 879k | $26M (exactly $26,363,909) | Bay 12 Games |
| | The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria™ | older | $29.99 | 10,242 80% | 307k | $9.2M (exactly $9,214,727) | Free Range Games |
| | Craft The World | older | $18.99 | 15,074 88% | 452k | $8.6M (exactly $8,587,658) | Dekovir Entertainment, Sibear Games |
| | SpellForce 3 Reforced | older | $39.99 | 5,784 76% | 174k | $6.9M (exactly $6,939,065) | Grimlore Games |
| | KeeperRL | older | $19.99 | 1,677 83% | 50k | $1.0M (exactly $1,005,697) | Electric Succubi |
 | Regions Of Ruin | older | $11.99 | 1,972 84% | 59k | $709k (exactly $709,328) | Gameclaw Studio |
 | Orebound | · EA | $24.99 | 945 77% | 28k | $708k (exactly $708,466) | Emberforge |
 | Small Spaces | · EA | $12.99 | 1,479 89% | 44k | $576k (exactly $576,366) | smilestone games |
 | Dwarf Eats Mountain | $9.99 | 1,114 80% | 33k | $334k (exactly $333,866) | Green Wizard | |
 | First Dwarf | · EA older | $24.99 | 314 76% | 9.4k | $235k (exactly $235,406) | Star Drifters |
 | Regions of Ruin: Runegate | $19.99 | 389 84% | 12k | $233k (exactly $233,283) | Gameclaw Studio | |
 | Hold The Mine | · EA | $14.99 | 338 83% | 10k | $152k (exactly $151,999) | Hookaria Games |
 | Gargadusa's Tower | $8.99 | 294 90% | 8.8k | $79k (exactly $79,292) | The Math Team | |
 | Blacksmith: Ignite the Forge | $9.99 | 103 73% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $30,869) | Floodgate Crew | |
 | Into the Slimy Mines | $12.99 | 26 100% | 780 | $10k (exactly $10,132) | Ant Workshop Ltd | |
 | Heroes Suck | $19.99 | 6 50% | 180 | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) | Dawning Light | |
 | The Drunken Beard | $4.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) | JMP Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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