Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Dungeon Crawler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dungeon Crawler City Builder?

City Builder + Dungeon Crawler

Only 18 developers shipped a Dungeon Crawler City Builder in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Dungeon Tycoon, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 36 more are announced, ×4.0 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 $810; 1 in 20 cleared $660k, ×1054 the market median. Revenue is up 155% on the market; 36 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 155% on the market, 36 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Dungeon Crawler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $600 → $661k → $2.5k → $20k → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Dungeon Crawler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $809 (exactly $809)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $35,526)
Top 5% $662k (exactly $661,958)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 50
Announced 36
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $12.99

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 155% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Dungeon Crawler
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, Dungeon Crawler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Simulation, Strategy
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 4,280 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $810, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $660k.

3 in 10 developers made under $810. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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

Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom 2018 · $15M War for the Overworld 2015 · $5.8M Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising 2022 · $933k Dungeon Tycoon 2024 · $662k Blackthorn Arena: Reforged 2024 · $661k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom older $59.99 8,100 82% 243k $15M (exactly $14,577,570) LEVEL5 Inc.
War for the Overworld older $29.99 6,495 85% 195k $5.8M (exactly $5,843,552) Brightrock Games
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising older $14.99 2,075 85% 62k $933k (exactly $933,128) NatsumeAtari
Dungeon Tycoon $14.99 1,472 78% 44k $662k (exactly $661,958) Lunheim Studios
Blackthorn Arena: Reforged $24.99 882 66% 26k $661k (exactly $661,235) PersonaeGame Studio
Anomaly President · EA $14.99 1,376 91% 41k $619k (exactly $618,787) Phew Phew Games
Deity Empires older $24.99 333 86% 10k $250k (exactly $249,650) BaileyHausdorff Systems
Super Dungeon Maker older $19.99 388 82% 12k $233k (exactly $232,684) FIRECHICK
Guardians of the Sanctree $19.99 284 72% 8.5k $170k (exactly $170,315) HuCang Studio
Shelter Manager older $14.99 251 62% 7.5k $113k (exactly $112,875) Hamsters Gaming
Island Paradise $14.99 79 77% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,526) GSG
Crafter's Hollow $9.99 69 53% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,679) Wylde Wisp Games
Next Run $9.99 66 75% 2.0k $20k (exactly $19,780) Clarus Victoria
Legacy of Sin: Ill-Boding $12.99 23 69% 690 $9.0k (exactly $8,963) Absolute Power Game Studio
Forsaken Valley $9.99 12 91% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) KineticFox
我就是建-I just build $4.99 17 94% 510 $2.5k (exactly $2,545) Kwing works

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