Do I ship it?

GamesGod GameGod Game + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist God Game?

God Game + Capitalism

Of 26 developers who shipped a Capitalist God 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.. 20 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×6.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×250 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 20 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 20 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
God Game + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $297 → $450 → $1.9k → $10k → $45k → $1.0k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for God Game + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $4.3k (exactly $4,315)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $23,002)
Top 5% $157k (exactly $156,687)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 54
Announced 20
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 80% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 2%, 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.

God Game
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Capitalism
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
God Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Economy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cartoon, Comedy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 4,330 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $4.3k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

God Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + HistoricalFair19 devs · median $12k · 28 announced
  2. + EconomyFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  3. + PuzzleFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  4. + Inventory ManagementFair16 devs · median $1.1k · 15 announced
  5. + DestructionFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  6. + DystopianFair14 devs · median $898 · 10 announced
  7. + IdlerFair91 devs · median $839 · 95 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair79 devs · median $807 · 71 announced
  9. + ArcadeLong shot17 devs · median $390 · 20 announced
  10. + Farming SimLong shot22 devs · median $359 · 24 announced
  11. + AgricultureLong shot9 devs · median $180 · 7 announced
  12. + Base BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $28k · 77 announced

All 96 pairs on the God Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tropico 4 older $14.99 8,211 91% 246k $3.7M (exactly $3,692,487) Haemimont Games
Sintopia $34.99 951 80% 29k $998k (exactly $998,265) Piraknights Games
TasteMaker older $11.99 1,249 83% 37k $449k (exactly $449,265) Jelle Booij
GolfTopia older $19.99 477 95% 14k $286k (exactly $286,057) MinMax Games Ltd.
Mars Attracts · EA $24.99 209 91% 6.3k $157k (exactly $156,687) Outlier
[ECHOSTASIS] older $19.99 215 90% 6.5k $129k (exactly $128,935) ENIGMA STUDIO
Execute $5.99 679 91% 20k $122k (exactly $122,016) Payne Robinson
MMO98 $6.99 511 69% 15k $107k (exactly $107,157) BiteMe Games
拖拖拉拉小菲镇 $1.99 1,528 98% 46k $91k (exactly $91,222) LuzhangGames
Global Magnates: Shipping Tycoon $12.99 116 64% 3.5k $45k (exactly $45,205) Aquila Chengdu
Desktop Fishes $5.99 128 82% 3.8k $23k (exactly $23,002) Daniel Santalla
Neongarten $9.99 67 86% 2.0k $20k (exactly $20,080) Moonroof Studios
Trump Simulator 2025 $3.99 106 91% 3.2k $13k (exactly $12,688) Luke Gayson
Creo God Simulator $9.99 35 68% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) MKSM Design LLC

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