Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Score Attack game?

Building + Score Attack

Of 47 developers who shipped a Building Score Attack 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.. 47 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×624 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 47 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 47 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 47
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $28k → $479 → $3.1k → $4.6k → $719 → $3.8k → $150 (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 47
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $7.2k (exactly $7,193)
Top 5% $392k (exactly $392,144)
Developers, 2 yr 47
Released games 95
Announced 47
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 55% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Score Attack; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Top-Down, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 7,174 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $720, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $390k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Building with a different second tag, 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

ISLANDERS 2019 · $2.4M Element TD 2 - Tower Defense 2021 · $1.3M Monsters are Coming! 2025 · $733k Axon TD: Uprising - Tower Defense 2024 · $423k Achilles: Survivor 2025 · $392k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ISLANDERS older $4.99 16,104 94% 483k $2.4M (exactly $2,410,769) Coatsink, GrizzlyGames, Stage Clear Stu… (Coatsink, GrizzlyGames, Stage Clear Studios)
Element TD 2 - Tower Defense older $14.99 2,848 90% 85k $1.3M (exactly $1,280,746) Element Studios
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
Axon TD: Uprising - Tower Defense $19.99 706 85% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) Element Studios
Achilles: Survivor $8.99 1,454 81% 44k $392k (exactly $392,144) Dark Point Games
ISLANDERS: New Shores $9.99 1,230 96% 37k $369k (exactly $368,631) The Station
Copa City: Matchday Manager $24.99 247 72% 7.4k $185k (exactly $185,176) Triple Espresso S.A.
GRIDROAD $9.99 385 82% 12k $115k (exactly $115,384) RAJACORP
Check Inn $14.99 197 84% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) KishMish Games
Broken Universe - Tower Defense older $9.99 289 90% 8.7k $87k (exactly $86,613) Jinthree Studio
Slip & Skid $12.99 141 97% 4.2k $55k (exactly $54,948) NHOGS Interactive
IRON GUARD: Salvation $17.99 44 93% 1.3k $24k (exactly $23,747) Xlab Digital
Reverse Problem $12.99 52 86% 1.6k $20k (exactly $20,264) Tag Axle Games

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