Do I ship it?

GamesCity BuilderCity Builder + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led City Builder?

City Builder + Female Protagonist

Only 13 developers shipped a Female-Led 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, ContractVille, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×2.1 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 $900; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×2669 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 19 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 19 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $3.3k → $600 → $4.6k → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $48k (exactly $47,846)
Top 5% $1.7M (exactly $1,676,222)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 56
Announced 19
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 up 40% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Female Protagonist
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 7,244 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $47k, 1 in 20 over $1.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

City Builder with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Construction Simulator older $24.99 10,606 82% 318k $8.0M (exactly $7,951,318) weltenbauer. Software Entwicklung GmbH
ContractVille $9.99 5,593 80% 168k $1.7M (exactly $1,676,222) MYM Games Studios
Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian $59.99 714 89% 21k $1.3M (exactly $1,284,986) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
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.
Dust to the End older $11.99 1,076 78% 32k $387k (exactly $387,037) Haojoy Game, Zjoy Game
Space Colony: Steam Edition older $14.99 564 78% 17k $254k (exactly $253,631) Firefly Studios
Roots of Yggdrasil older $19.99 300 85% 9.0k $180k (exactly $179,910) ManaVoid Entertainment
Tristia:legacy older $59.99 69 89% 2.1k $124k (exactly $124,179) KOGADO STUDIO
Holy Road older $19.99 204 62% 6.1k $122k (exactly $122,339) peperoncino
Kapital: Sparks of Revolution older $19.99 192 61% 5.8k $115k (exactly $115,142) Lapovich Team
TOHOTOPIA · EA $3.99 732 97% 22k $88k (exactly $87,620) Remilia Command
Bubblegum Galaxy $13.99 114 100% 3.4k $48k (exactly $47,846) Smarto Club
Final Frontier Story $8.99 48 72% 1.4k $13k (exactly $12,946) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Climber Girl $7.99 19 36% 570 $4.6k (exactly $4,554) AlterLab Development
Forsaken Valley $9.99 12 91% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) KineticFox
King's Legacy: A Crown Divided Collector's Edition $14.99 4 75% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) Cateia Games
YUME ROOF $7.99 5 100% 150 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Studio Rivi
Syr and The Stars' Revival $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Caro Builders

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