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Should I ship a Building Loot game?
Building + Loot
Of 48 developers who shipped a Building Loot 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.. 127 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.2k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×1136 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 127 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) |
| Top 25% | $130k (exactly $129,535) |
| Top 5% | $714k (exactly $713,643) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 48 |
| Released games | 145 |
| Announced | 127 |
| 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 45% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Building, Loot; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Crafting, Exploration, Base Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 12,860 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 127 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Building with a different second tag, 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
Wild Terra 2: New Lands 2022 · $1.7M 
DeadPoly 2022 · EA · $1.6M 
Tinkerlands 2025 · EA · $1.4M 
The Lost Village 2024 · $987k 
Planet Centauri 2024 · $945k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Wild Terra 2: New Lands | older | $39.99 | 1,379 62% | 41k | $1.7M (exactly $1,654,386) | Juvty Worlds |
| | DeadPoly | · EA older | $9.99 | 5,384 78% | 162k | $1.6M (exactly $1,613,585) | TFL Games |
| | Tinkerlands | · EA | $12.99 | 3,624 85% | 109k | $1.4M (exactly $1,412,273) | CodeManu, Endless Coffee |
| | The Lost Village | older | $11.99 | 2,743 70% | 82k | $987k (exactly $986,657) | FunYoo Games |
| | Planet Centauri | $14.99 | 2,102 75% | 63k | $945k (exactly $945,269) | Permadeath | |
 | Lay of the Land | $19.99 | 1,190 79% | 36k | $714k (exactly $713,643) | Southern Cross Interactive | |
 | GRAIN ROT | $9.99 | 1,845 88% | 55k | $553k (exactly $552,946) | Beck & Branch Games | |
 | Devil Spire Falls | · EA | $14.99 | 1,068 94% | 32k | $480k (exactly $480,280) | Ithiro Sumi |
 | Beyond the Map | · EA | $19.99 | 764 77% | 23k | $458k (exactly $458,171) | Glitch Goblins |
 | holoVillage: Our Cozy Days | $24.99 | 518 83% | 16k | $388k (exactly $388,345) | Roboqlo | |
 | Darfall | $24.99 | 491 71% | 15k | $368k (exactly $368,103) | SquareNite | |
 | BULT: Hunting simulator | · EA | $9.99 | 869 87% | 26k | $260k (exactly $260,439) | Nordrise |
 | Regions of Ruin: Runegate | $19.99 | 389 84% | 12k | $233k (exactly $233,283) | Gameclaw Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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