Games › Building › Building + Western
Should I ship a Western Building game?
Building + Western
Only 12 developers shipped a Western 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, Alaska Gold Fever, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 23 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $24k, ×38 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $12k; 1 in 20 cleared $480k, ×778 the market median. Revenue is up 240% on the market; 23 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $12k (exactly $11,534) |
|---|---|
| Median | $24k (exactly $23,747) |
| Top 25% | $254k (exactly $254,273) |
| Top 5% | $489k (exactly $488,802) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 37 |
| Announced | 23 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $16.99 |
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 240% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Price point
- $16.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 2,451 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $12k. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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
Railway Empire 2018 · $6.5M 
Railway Empire 2 2023 · $2.9M 
Heat 2020 · $1.6M 
SteamWorld Build 2023 · $1.4M 
Wild West Legacy 2024 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Railway Empire | older | $29.99 | 7,219 82% | 217k | $6.5M (exactly $6,494,934) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | Railway Empire 2 | older | $49.99 | 1,966 72% | 59k | $2.9M (exactly $2,948,410) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | Heat | older | $19.99 | 2,612 49% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,566,416) | Code}{atch |
| | SteamWorld Build | older | $24.99 | 1,884 83% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,412,435) | The Station |
| | Wild West Legacy | older | $26.99 | 1,706 39% | 51k | $1.4M (exactly $1,381,348) | Moon Punch Studio |
 | Railroad Corporation | older | $35.99 | 1,094 74% | 33k | $1.2M (exactly $1,181,192) | Corbie Games |
 | Above Snakes | older | $24.99 | 1,574 74% | 47k | $1.2M (exactly $1,180,028) | Square Glade Games |
 | Depraved | older | $19.99 | 1,129 60% | 34k | $677k (exactly $677,061) | Evil Bite |
 | Alaska Gold Fever | $16.99 | 959 79% | 29k | $489k (exactly $488,802) | Baked Games | |
 | Railroad Corporation 2 | $39.99 | 376 69% | 11k | $451k (exactly $451,087) | Corbie Games | |
 | Wild Indigo Ranch | $19.99 | 424 68% | 13k | $254k (exactly $254,273) | Funday Games | |
 | Cattle Country | $18.99 | 335 86% | 10k | $191k (exactly $190,849) | Castle Pixel, LLC. | |
 | Wild West Miner Simulator | $5.99 | 181 66% | 5.4k | $33k (exactly $32,526) | Digital Melody | |
 | Ranchbound | · EA | $17.99 | 44 50% | 1.3k | $24k (exactly $23,747) | Eldersong Games |
 | Union Of Rivals | · EA | $25.49 | 31 64% | 930 | $24k (exactly $23,706) | 2Play |
 | WAGON | $10.99 | 38 94% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,529) | de_husk | |
 | Fuel Station Simulator | $6.99 | 55 60% | 1.7k | $12k (exactly $11,534) | QuantumPlay Studios | |
 | The First Mine | $4.99 | 8 87% | 240 | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) | Stefan Böttcher |
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.