Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Creature Collector

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Creature Collector City Builder?

City Builder + Creature Collector

Of 23 developers who shipped a Creature Collector 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.. 54 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.0k, ×9.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $470k, ×758 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 54 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 54 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Creature Collector
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: $3.0k → $60k → $12k → $3.3k → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Creature Collector: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Median $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 25% $111k (exactly $111,351)
Top 5% $476k (exactly $475,924)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 45
Announced 54
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 45% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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
Creature Collector
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, Creature Collector; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Idler, Building
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 6,403 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $6.0k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $470k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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

Let's Build a Zoo 2021 · $2.2M Anomaly President 2026 · EA · $619k Birdwatching Notebook 2026 · $476k Horticular: Build a Garden, Attract Wildlife 2024 · $234k My Little Life 2025 · $187k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Let's Build a Zoo older $19.99 3,722 89% 112k $2.2M (exactly $2,232,083) Springloaded
Anomaly President · EA $14.99 1,376 91% 41k $619k (exactly $618,787) Phew Phew Games
Birdwatching Notebook $9.99 1,588 97% 48k $476k (exactly $475,924) Biekka Games
Horticular: Build a Garden, Attract Wildlife older $19.99 391 88% 12k $234k (exactly $234,483) inDirection Games
My Little Life $5.99 1,043 89% 31k $187k (exactly $187,427) 9FingerGames
Berserk B.I.T.S $6.99 667 81% 20k $140k (exactly $139,870) BerserkBoy Games
Unholy Heights older $3.99 1,129 90% 34k $135k (exactly $135,141) Petit Depotto
Battle On! Hero Academy $4.99 756 83% 23k $113k (exactly $113,173) MMUnit
Loafing Town $6.99 531 85% 16k $111k (exactly $111,351) GoblinZz
Time to Morp $19.99 178 79% 5.3k $107k (exactly $106,747) Team HalfBeard
ArkCraft: The Rebirth of the World $10.99 181 71% 5.4k $60k (exactly $59,676) ZD Yazilim
Monstergirl Hunters $15.99 70 94% 2.1k $34k (exactly $33,579) MadoWorks
WarOfGods 2 $29.99 13 76% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Mensa World

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