Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Combat

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat City Builder?

City Builder + Combat

Of 77 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 156 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 $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $750k, ×1199 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 156 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 156 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Combat
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 77
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.1k → $3.7k → $2.1k → $2.7k → $8.1k → $2.5k → $12k (still earning) → $4.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Combat: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 77
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,597)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $26,970)
Top 5% $753k (exactly $753,248)
Developers, 2 yr 77
Released games 143
Announced 156
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 40% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Combat; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Strategy, Building
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 40,313 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $750k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 156 games are announced against 48 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

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition 2020 · $39M Kingdom Heroes 8 2021 · $12M Thronefall 2024 · $8.9M Songs of Syx 2020 · EA · $6.6M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition older $34.99 37,093 84% 1.1M $39M (exactly $38,936,522) World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten… (World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires)
Kingdom Heroes 8 older $29.99 12,793 55% 384k $12M (exactly $11,509,862) USERJOY Technology Co.,Ltd.
Thronefall $12.99 22,966 96% 689k $8.9M (exactly $8,949,850) GrizzlyGames, Mythwright
Songs of Syx · EA older $24.99 8,842 94% 265k $6.6M (exactly $6,628,847) Gamatron AB
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles older $19.99 1,381 85% 41k $828k (exactly $828,186) Tomas Sala
Airborne Empire $29.99 852 86% 26k $767k (exactly $766,544) The Wandering Band LLC
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
Roman Triumph: Survival City Builder $24.99 742 83% 22k $556k (exactly $556,277) Coreffect Interactive
Masters of Albion · EA $24.99 607 64% 18k $455k (exactly $455,068) 22cans
holoVillage: Our Cozy Days $24.99 518 83% 16k $388k (exactly $388,345) Roboqlo
Darfall $24.99 491 71% 15k $368k (exactly $368,103) SquareNite
Territory: Farming and Warfare $14.99 738 84% 22k $332k (exactly $331,879) Wit Studio

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