Do I ship it?

GamesTransportationTransportation + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Transportation game?

Transportation + Capitalism

Of 23 developers who shipped a Capitalist Transportation 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.. 45 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $7.2k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×534 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 45 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 11.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 45 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Transportation + Capitalism
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: $24k → $1.9k → $5.9k → $25k → $27k (still earning) → $7.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Transportation + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Median $7.2k (exactly $7,191)
Top 25% $44k (exactly $43,827)
Top 5% $335k (exactly $335,232)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 56
Announced 45
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 80% on the market, supply 185% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Transportation
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
Transportation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Resource Management, Simulation
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 3,620 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $7.2k, 1 in 4 over $43k, 1 in 20 over $330k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Character CustomizationFair19 devs · median $7.2k · 24 announced
  2. + PvPFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + 3D PlatformerFair13 devs · median $3.1k · 12 announced
  4. + RacingFair39 devs · median $2.3k · 35 announced
  5. + Action-AdventureFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  6. + LogicFair29 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  7. + ArcadeFair37 devs · median $839 · 32 announced
  8. + IdlerFair15 devs · median $747 · 20 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds14 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  11. + Level EditorPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  12. + Life SimPoor odds24 devs · median $27k · 48 announced

All 53 pairs on the Transportation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Eco · EA older $29.99 11,375 80% 341k $10M (exactly $10,234,088) Strange Loop Games
Airport CEO older $24.99 7,752 83% 233k $5.8M (exactly $5,811,674) Apog Labs
Rise of Industry older $29.99 3,122 74% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,808,863) Dapper Penguin Studios
City Bus Manager older $29.99 2,405 90% 72k $2.2M (exactly $2,163,778) PeDePe GbR
NIMBY Rails · EA older $19.99 2,228 89% 67k $1.3M (exactly $1,336,132) Weird and Wry
InfraSpace older $24.99 1,638 82% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,228,009) Dionic Software
Railroad Corporation older $35.99 1,094 74% 33k $1.2M (exactly $1,181,192) Corbie Games
Ore Factory Squad ⛏️ $12.99 1,646 87% 49k $641k (exactly $641,446) threeW
Worldwide Rush $19.99 559 77% 17k $335k (exactly $335,232) Memel Games
Cabin Crew Life Simulator · EA $12.99 505 70% 15k $197k (exactly $196,798) SOGA Std
The Meter is Running $7.00 253 77% 7.6k $53k (exactly $53,130) Debt Driven Games
Global Magnates: Shipping Tycoon $12.99 116 64% 3.5k $45k (exactly $45,205) Aquila Chengdu
PROFITS 2167: Planetary Resource Optimization & Freight Infrastructure Technician Simulator · EA $6.99 209 98% 6.3k $44k (exactly $43,827) Simple Software Solutions
Microlandia $8.99 143 88% 4.3k $39k (exactly $38,567) Information Superhighway Games
Moving Simulator $7.99 112 42% 3.4k $27k (exactly $26,846) Corpix Games, PlayWay S.A.
Empire Builder $19.99 42 95% 1.3k $25k (exactly $25,187) Zombie Possum Games Inc
City Bus Simulator 2026 $11.99 35 34% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,590) KODOBUR

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