Games › FPS › FPS + City Builder
Should I ship a City Builder FPS?
FPS + City Builder
Only 9 developers shipped a City Builder FPS 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, Death row inmates on the run 2--The Resistance, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×6.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.0k against a market of $1.5k. 26 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $478 (exactly $478) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $3.8k (exactly $3,838) |
| Top 5% | $18k (exactly $18,034) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 26 |
| Announced | 26 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 1785% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- FPS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- City Builder
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS, City Builder
- Price point
- $4.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 64% positive over 1,574 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Estate Agent Simulator | · EA older | $15.99 | 573 67% | 17k | $275k (exactly $274,868) | Kiki Games |
| | Journey Of Life | older | $14.99 | 598 55% | 18k | $269k (exactly $268,921) | Hyperion Studio Limited |
| | Pirates Journey | older | $12.99 | 93 53% | 2.8k | $36k (exactly $36,242) | 2MEDYA |
| | Hazeron Starship | older | $19.99 | 55 70% | 1.7k | $33k (exactly $32,984) | Hazeron Freehold LLC |
| | Death row inmates on the run 2--The Resistance | $6.99 | 86 55% | 2.6k | $18k (exactly $18,034) | zzzgame | |
| | Path to Prosperity | · EA older | $14.99 | 27 92% | 810 | $12k (exactly $12,142) | Essence Games |
| | Paperwork | $3.99 | 92 95% | 2.8k | $11k (exactly $11,012) | Broken Record Studio | |
| | FortressCraft : Chapter 1 | older | $9.99 | 36 94% | 1.1k | $11k (exactly $10,789) | ProjectorGames |
| | LivingForest | $15.99 | 8 62% | 240 | $3.8k (exactly $3,838) | LivingEveryday | |
| | Shadow of the Night | $12.99 | 6 50% | 180 | $2.3k (exactly $2,338) | Uğur ÇELİK | |
| | Kings of Cratia | $4.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | eniscoskun | |
| | Crystal Effect : Elemental | · EA | $3.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $718 (exactly $718) | VaryFrom |
| | Fantasy World Simulator | · EA | $1.99 | 8 75% | 240 | $478 (exactly $478) | North Coast Studio |
| | Cube City Capital | $4.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | TenGames Oy | |
| | hotland | $1.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $60 (exactly $60) | AdamasZ |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.