Games › Building › Building + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Building game?
Building + Modern
Of 70 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 88 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.0k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $910k, ×1462 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 88 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) |
| Top 25% | $73k (exactly $73,471) |
| Top 5% | $918k (exactly $918,382) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 70 |
| Released games | 177 |
| Announced | 88 |
| 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 up 80% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 52,956 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 6 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 88 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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
Cities: Skylines 2015 · $198M 
inZOI 2025 · EA · $36M 
PC Building Simulator 2019 · $25M 
RoadCraft 2025 · $16M 
Animal Shelter 2022 · $2.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cities: Skylines | older | $29.99 | 220,465 92% | 6.6M | $198M (exactly $198,352,360) | Colossal Order |
| | inZOI | · EA | $39.99 | 30,020 77% | 901k | $36M (exactly $36,014,994) | inZOI Studio |
| | PC Building Simulator | older | $19.99 | 42,153 93% | 1.3M | $25M (exactly $25,279,154) | Claudiu Kiss, The Irregular Corporation |
| | RoadCraft | $39.99 | 13,527 74% | 406k | $16M (exactly $16,228,342) | Saber Interactive | |
| | Animal Shelter | older | $19.99 | 3,642 87% | 109k | $2.2M (exactly $2,184,107) | Games Incubator |
 | ContractVille | $9.99 | 5,593 80% | 168k | $1.7M (exactly $1,676,222) | MYM Games Studios | |
 | InfraSpace | older | $24.99 | 1,638 82% | 49k | $1.2M (exactly $1,228,009) | Dionic Software |
 | Power & Revolution 2020 Edition | older | $49.99 | 769 63% | 23k | $1.2M (exactly $1,153,269) | Eversim |
 | Highrise City | older | $29.99 | 1,240 77% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,115,628) | Fourexo Entertainment |
 | Urbek City Builder | older | $18.99 | 1,830 89% | 55k | $1.0M (exactly $1,042,551) | Fridus |
 | Farmer's Dynasty 2 | · EA | $24.99 | 1,225 72% | 37k | $918k (exactly $918,382) | UMEO Studios |
 | Geo-Political Simulator 5 | $59.99 | 391 34% | 12k | $704k (exactly $703,683) | Eversim | |
 | Geo-Political Simulator 2026 Edition | $59.99 | 249 48% | 7.5k | $448k (exactly $448,125) | Eversim | |
 | Industry Giant 4.0 | $24.99 | 506 33% | 15k | $379k (exactly $379,348) | Don VS Dodo | |
 | Hometopia | $8.99 | 777 57% | 23k | $210k (exactly $209,557) | Hometopia Inc. | |
 | Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond | $24.99 | 253 39% | 7.6k | $190k (exactly $189,674) | Jujubee | |
 | ShantyTown | $14.99 | 415 98% | 12k | $187k (exactly $186,626) | Erik Rempen |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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