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Should I ship a Snow Building game?
Building + Snow
Only 18 developers shipped a Snow Building game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Mon Bazou, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $33k, ×53 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.5M, ×15217 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 31 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
|---|---|
| Median | $33k (exactly $33,156) |
| Top 25% | $210k (exactly $209,700) |
| Top 5% | $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 47 |
| Announced | 31 |
| 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 30% on the market, supply 55% 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Crafting, Exploration, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 23,256 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 5 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mon Bazou | $15.99 | 19,922 97% | 598k | $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583) | Santa Goat | |
| | Winter Resort Simulator 2 | older | $24.99 | 1,336 84% | 40k | $1.0M (exactly $1,001,599) | Simuverse Interactive |
| | Arctico | older | $9.99 | 2,207 70% | 66k | $661k (exactly $661,438) | Claudio Norori, Antonio Vargas |
| | OxyRail | · EA | $14.99 | 949 80% | 28k | $427k (exactly $426,765) | OxygenTech Limited |
| | Above the Snow | $24.99 | 383 75% | 11k | $287k (exactly $287,135) | Above the Desk | |
| | Arctic Motel Simulator | $17.99 | 465 88% | 14k | $251k (exactly $250,960) | One Slice of Pizza Games | |
| | When Ski Lifts Go Wrong | older | $14.99 | 519 87% | 16k | $233k (exactly $233,394) | Hugecalf Studios |
| | Another Try 2 | · EA | $6.99 | 1,000 53% | 30k | $210k (exactly $209,700) | Hoki Wolf Studio |
| | Frozen Ship | · EA | $19.99 | 142 76% | 4.3k | $85k (exactly $85,157) | Nionetix |
| | Frost Survival VR | $14.99 | 161 89% | 4.8k | $72k (exactly $72,402) | Wenkly Studio Sp. z o.o. | |
| | Ice World | $9.99 | 111 57% | 3.3k | $33k (exactly $33,267) | CoolRabbit Games | |
| | Arctic Shift: Fuel Station | $13.99 | 79 49% | 2.4k | $33k (exactly $33,156) | Wildbyte | |
| | The Cold White | $9.99 | 44 45% | 1.3k | $13k (exactly $13,187) | 2MEDYA |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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