Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Building game?

Building + Dystopian

Of 30 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 62 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $790k, ×1272 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 62 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 62 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.0k → $12k → $628 → $90k → $25k → $599 → $807 (still earning) → $8.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,948)
Top 25% $51k (exactly $51,249)
Top 5% $799k (exactly $798,756)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 79
Announced 62
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 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 8,527 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $51k, 1 in 20 over $790k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Building with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hardspace: Shipbreaker 2022 · $20M AI＊Shoujo/AI＊少女 2020 · $4.4M Get To Work 2024 · $1.3M Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M Landlord's Super 2023 · $865k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hardspace: Shipbreaker older $34.99 19,431 89% 583k $20M (exactly $20,396,721) Blackbird Interactive
AI＊Shoujo/AI＊少女 older $69.99 2,100 75% 63k $4.4M (exactly $4,409,370) ILLUSION
Get To Work $12.99 3,456 88% 104k $1.3M (exactly $1,346,803) Isto Inc.
Obenseuer · EA older $19.99 1,684 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) Loiste Interactive
Landlord's Super older $19.99 1,442 80% 43k $865k (exactly $864,767) Minskworks
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Dystopika older $6.99 3,413 95% 102k $716k (exactly $715,706) Voids Within
Decision: Red Daze older $19.99 855 74% 26k $513k (exactly $512,743) FlyAnvil
JUNKPUNK · EA older $15.99 641 60% 19k $307k (exactly $307,488) SCT
Ark of Charon $24.99 389 75% 12k $292k (exactly $291,633) Angoo Inc., SUNSOFT
BULT: Hunting simulator · EA $9.99 869 87% 26k $260k (exactly $260,439) Nordrise
Fill Up The Hole $2.99 1,165 90% 35k $105k (exactly $104,501) Fluffy Lotus
Technotopia $4.99 599 86% 18k $90k (exactly $89,670) Yustas
Frozen Ship · EA $19.99 142 76% 4.3k $85k (exactly $85,157) Nionetix
Decision Legacy Collection $9.99 171 83% 5.1k $51k (exactly $51,249) FlyAnvil
Red Rocket Defencism $7.99 172 98% 5.2k $41k (exactly $41,228) tiny cactus studio
Saviour of the Wasteland $9.99 84 78% 2.5k $25k (exactly $25,175) PTGames

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