Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller Building game?

Building + Thriller

Only 12 developers shipped a Thriller 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, Inferno Protocol, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 7 developers shipped in the last year and 15 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 15 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $628 → $628 → $299 → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $719 (exactly $719)
Top 5% $58k (exactly $58,277)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 30
Announced 15
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 25% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Thriller
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
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 180 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $450, 1 in 4 over $710, 1 in 20 over $58k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Building with a different setting or mood, 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

Seed of the Dead: Sweet Home 2021 · $2.7M Inferno Protocol 2026 · EA · $58k The Lighthouse 2019 · EA · $25k EDGE OF DAWN 2020 · $16k Left Behind 2024 · $14k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Seed of the Dead: Sweet Home older $29.99 3,006 83% 90k $2.7M (exactly $2,704,498) TeamKRAMA
Inferno Protocol · EA $13.49 144 79% 4.3k $58k (exactly $58,277) Tektonic Interactive
The Lighthouse · EA older $24.99 34 64% 1.0k $25k (exactly $25,490) Shadow Knights Studio
EDGE OF DAWN older $14.99 36 33% 1.1k $16k (exactly $16,189) Western Werks
Left Behind older $5.99 76 61% 2.3k $14k (exactly $13,657) SolitaryStudios
Snow Survival · EA older $11.99 34 26% 1.0k $12k (exactly $12,230) 3m0 studio
Perv Simulator VR · EA older $12.99 11 27% 330 $4.3k (exactly $4,287) Teluma Games
Forlorn older $8.99 10 70% 300 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) Rainmade Games
Escape Island · EA older $6.99 9 11% 270 $1.9k (exactly $1,887) Fika Game Studio
Beastmaster older $5.99 6 16% 180 $1.1k (exactly $1,078) 鱼鱼游戏
Dark Grid $2.99 11 90% 330 $987 (exactly $987) Moonlight Sand
Outsanity $5.99 4 75% 120 $719 (exactly $719) Damar Studio
Backrooms: The Yellow Dream $2.99 7 71% 210 $628 (exactly $628) Crow Games
Resident Fear 3 : Ascension $4.99 3 33% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Gamesoft Studios
Gatekeeper Simulator: Inner Circle $4.99 3 66% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Revolt Entertainment
Grandpa's House · EA $3.50 3 100% 90 $315 (exactly $315) Fersel Studio
Mind Within $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) DIG Games
The Mysterious Mansion $4.99 2 0% 60 $299 (exactly $299) IBRAHIM ARSLAN
SOME: The House $7.99 1 0% 30 $240 (exactly $240) Shubham Khedaskar

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