Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Collectathon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Collectathon City Builder?

City Builder + Collectathon

Of 21 developers who shipped a Collectathon 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.. 36 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×618 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 36 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 36 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Collectathon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $1.7k → $8.6k → $132k → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Collectathon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $718 (exactly $718)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $17,970)
Top 5% $388k (exactly $388,345)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 47
Announced 36
Effort 6 / 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 65% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Collectathon
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

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, Collectathon; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Management, Sandbox
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 5,504 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 $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $380k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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

Littlewood 2020 · $2.7M Star Birds 2025 · EA · $1.8M Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists ~Ateliers of the New World~ 2019 · $425k holoVillage: Our Cozy Days 2026 · $388k Love Tavern 2023 · $280k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Littlewood older $14.99 6,083 93% 182k $2.7M (exactly $2,735,525) Sean Young
Star Birds · EA $19.99 2,990 92% 90k $1.8M (exactly $1,793,103) Toukana Interactive
Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists ~Ateliers of the New World~ older $59.99 236 77% 7.1k $425k (exactly $424,729) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
holoVillage: Our Cozy Days $24.99 518 83% 16k $388k (exactly $388,345) Roboqlo
Love Tavern older $11.99 778 73% 23k $280k (exactly $279,847) Secret Labo
My Little Life $5.99 1,043 89% 31k $187k (exactly $187,427) 9FingerGames
Twinkleby $16.99 259 92% 7.8k $132k (exactly $132,012) Might and Delight
Craftlands Workshoppe older $19.99 110 58% 3.3k $66k (exactly $65,967) Arvydas Žemaitis
Desk Garden $2.99 476 84% 14k $43k (exactly $42,697) Siesta Studio
Glimvale : My Mini Overworld $5.99 100 92% 3.0k $18k (exactly $17,970) Milkshake Games
Kity Builder $7.99 36 94% 1.1k $8.6k (exactly $8,629) Sambero, irx99, YerayToledano, Juan Hust
Hang up Street $3.99 38 50% 1.1k $4.5k (exactly $4,549) FoxGame
Ourlands $4.99 26 92% 780 $3.9k (exactly $3,892) GrahamOfLegend
Gunma's Ambition -You and me are Gunma- Reiwa 2nd national census edition $3.99 18 100% 540 $2.2k (exactly $2,155) RucKyGAMES

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