Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Card Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Game City Builder?

City Builder + Card Game

Of 50 developers who shipped a Card Game City Builder 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.. 66 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×9.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×594 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 66 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 66 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Card Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 50
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $11k → $3.3k → $18k → $13k → $8.6k → $479 (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Card Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 50
Bottom 30% $718 (exactly $718)
Median $5.7k (exactly $5,662)
Top 25% $49k (exactly $49,455)
Top 5% $373k (exactly $372,827)
Developers, 2 yr 50
Released games 113
Announced 66
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

City Builder
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Card Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
City Builder, Card Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Building
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 7,480 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $5.7k, 1 in 4 over $49k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 6 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

City Builder with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Visual NovelStrong odds10 devs · median $19k · 8 announced
  2. + LogicFair58 devs · median $3.3k · 74 announced
  3. + IncrementalFair75 devs · median $1.3k · 96 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair16 devs · median $1.3k · 20 announced
  5. + ArcadeFair28 devs · median $898 · 27 announced
  6. + RacingLong shot12 devs · median $299 · 9 announced
  7. + RomePoor odds9 devs · median $423k · 10 announced
  8. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 25 announced
  9. + HorrorPoor odds10 devs · median $157k · 21 announced
  10. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds17 devs · median $146k · 50 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds32 devs · median $118k · 55 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds26 devs · median $108k · 47 announced

All 136 pairs on the City Builder page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Stacklands 2022 · $7.0M Kingdoms Reborn 2020 · EA · $5.3M Ratropolis 2020 · $2.8M Cardboard Town 2023 · $1.2M Border Pioneer 2025 · $753k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stacklands older $7.99 29,244 96% 877k $7.0M (exactly $7,009,787) Sokpop Collective
Kingdoms Reborn · EA older $19.99 8,862 90% 266k $5.3M (exactly $5,314,541) Earthshine
Ratropolis older $17.99 5,187 87% 156k $2.8M (exactly $2,799,424) Cassel Games
Cardboard Town older $19.99 2,051 79% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) Stratera Games, cukuto
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Combolands: Roguelike Citybuilder $9.99 1,244 97% 37k $373k (exactly $372,827) Crux Games
There Are No Orcs $8.99 1,188 93% 36k $320k (exactly $320,404) BaseTrade Studio
Blood Rage: Digital Edition older $19.99 477 58% 14k $286k (exactly $286,057) Endava
Rogue Hex $19.99 260 89% 7.8k $156k (exactly $155,922) Topstitch Games
Kingdom's Deck $9.99 495 72% 15k $148k (exactly $148,352) Ivan Aco
Warlords Under Siege $9.99 436 77% 13k $131k (exactly $130,669) RedKar Devs
Entertainment Simulator $18.99 181 73% 5.4k $103k (exactly $103,116) Grizzbera Studio
Technotopia $4.99 599 86% 18k $90k (exactly $89,670) Yustas
Kaya's Prophecy $13.99 196 70% 5.9k $82k (exactly $82,261) Jérémie & Thibaut

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