Games › Building › Building + Mythology
Should I ship a Mythological Building game?
Building + Mythology
Of 34 developers who shipped a Mythological 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.. 79 more are announced, ×5.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.6k, ×7.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $50M, ×80994 the market median. Revenue is up 14730% on the market; 79 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,349) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.6k (exactly $4,585) |
| Top 25% | $290k (exactly $290,134) |
| Top 5% | $51M (exactly $50,864,540) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 88 |
| Announced | 79 |
| 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 14730% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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 Sandbox, Base Building, Strategy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 530,133 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 6 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.6 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Valheim | $29.99 | 464,893 94% | 14M | $418M (exactly $418,264,232) | Iron Gate AB | |
| | The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome | $29.99 | 56,535 65% | 1.7M | $51M (exactly $50,864,540) | ConchShip Games | |
| | WorldBox - God Simulator | · EA older | $19.99 | 51,071 95% | 1.5M | $31M (exactly $30,627,279) | Maxim Karpenko |
| | Amazing Cultivation Simulator | older | $24.99 | 19,111 85% | 573k | $14M (exactly $14,327,517) | GSQ Games |
| | Yog-Sothoth’s Yard | older | $10.99 | 10,207 93% | 306k | $3.4M (exactly $3,365,248) | Bone Nail |
| | Land of the Vikings | older | $25.99 | 1,960 72% | 59k | $1.5M (exactly $1,528,212) | Laps Games |
| | Ascension | · EA | $19.99 | 2,437 60% | 73k | $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) | Element Game 微元游戏 |
| | Dawn of Defiance | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,734 77% | 52k | $1.0M (exactly $1,039,880) | Traega Entertainment |
| | Microcivilization | $17.99 | 1,437 78% | 43k | $776k (exactly $775,549) | Ondrej Homola | |
| | YAR: Forgotten Throne | $19.99 | 1,283 89% | 38k | $769k (exactly $769,415) | Honor Games | |
| | Celestial Empire | · EA | $19.99 | 709 89% | 21k | $425k (exactly $425,187) | President Studio |
| | Achilles: Survivor | $8.99 | 1,454 81% | 44k | $392k (exactly $392,144) | Dark Point Games | |
| | Builders of Greece | $19.99 | 537 54% | 16k | $322k (exactly $322,039) | BLUM Entertainment, Strategy Labs | |
| | Night is Coming | · EA | $24.99 | 387 59% | 12k | $290k (exactly $290,134) | Wild Forest Studio |
| | Builders of Egypt | $19.99 | 461 31% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Strategy Labs |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.