Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Underground

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underground Building game?

Building + Underground

Of 23 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 72 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $480k, ×778 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 72 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 72 announced, ×5.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Underground
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.0k → $22k → $1.9k → $9.4k → $4.0k → $1.3k (still earning) → $6.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Underground: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,197)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,267)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $31,555)
Top 5% $489k (exactly $488,802)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 47
Announced 72
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 35% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

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
Underground
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Automation, Base Building, Crafting
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 6,689 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $31k, 1 in 20 over $480k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 72 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 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

while True: learn() 2019 · $2.9M Until We Die 2021 · $2.2M MineMogul 2025 · EA · $1.9M KeeperRL 2024 · $1.0M Alaska Gold Fever 2026 · $489k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
while True: learn() older $12.99 7,350 91% 221k $2.9M (exactly $2,864,295) Luden.io
Until We Die older $16.99 4,221 62% 127k $2.2M (exactly $2,151,444) Pixeye Games
MineMogul · EA $14.99 4,330 96% 130k $1.9M (exactly $1,947,201) NoodleForge (Gvarados & Diomonder)
KeeperRL older $19.99 1,677 83% 50k $1.0M (exactly $1,005,697) Electric Succubi
Alaska Gold Fever $16.99 959 79% 29k $489k (exactly $488,802) Baked Games
Dirty Business · EA $14.99 906 75% 27k $407k (exactly $407,428) Plan Dirty Games
STATIONflow older $17.99 479 85% 14k $259k (exactly $258,516) DMM GAMES
Project Wunderwaffe older $14.99 438 56% 13k $197k (exactly $196,969) Weasel Games
Mercury Fallen older $24.99 255 80% 7.7k $191k (exactly $191,174) Nitrous Butterfly
Dwelvers older $14.99 237 64% 7.1k $107k (exactly $106,579) Rasmus Ljunggren
Aground Zero $19.99 121 81% 3.6k $73k (exactly $72,564) Fancy Fish Games
Deep Among the Swarm $8.99 132 85% 4.0k $36k (exactly $35,600) Pebble Mountain Games
Cavern Adventurers $8.99 117 48% 3.5k $32k (exactly $31,555) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Underworld Overseer $19.99 52 90% 1.6k $31k (exactly $31,184) Myron Games
ExoColony: Planet Survival $11.99 26 69% 780 $9.4k (exactly $9,352) Simplemole
Exipelago $24.99 9 66% 270 $6.7k (exactly $6,747) reiti.net
Spell Alchemist $4.99 37 72% 1.1k $5.5k (exactly $5,539) hermurx

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