Games › City Builder › City Builder + Futuristic
Should I ship a Futuristic City Builder?
City Builder + Futuristic
Of 50 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 92 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $520k, ×841 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 92 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,699) |
| Top 25% | $9.7k (exactly $9,742) |
| Top 5% | $528k (exactly $528,336) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 50 |
| Released games | 115 |
| Announced | 92 |
| 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 80% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Futuristic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Strategy, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 3,742 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 92 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
City Builder with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + RacingLong shot
- + RomePoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Anno 2205™ 2015 · $7.3M 
Anno 2070™ 2011 · $6.9M 
Age of Wonders: Planetfall 2019 · $4.3M 
Cliff Empire 2019 · $2.3M 
Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ 2009 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Anno 2205™ | older | $39.99 | 6,115 70% | 183k | $7.3M (exactly $7,336,166) | Blue Byte |
| | Anno 2070™ | older | $19.99 | 11,571 59% | 347k | $6.9M (exactly $6,939,129) | Blue Byte, Related Designs |
| | Age of Wonders: Planetfall | older | $29.99 | 4,758 80% | 143k | $4.3M (exactly $4,280,773) | Triumph Studios |
| | Cliff Empire | older | $17.99 | 4,194 87% | 126k | $2.3M (exactly $2,263,502) | Lion's Shade |
| | Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ | older | $6.96 | 8,777 89% | 263k | $1.8M (exactly $1,832,638) | EA Los Angeles |
 | Industries of Titan | older | $29.99 | 1,553 61% | 47k | $1.4M (exactly $1,397,234) | Brace Yourself Games |
 | Spacebase DF-9 | older | $9.99 | 3,356 17% | 101k | $1.0M (exactly $1,005,793) | Double Fine Productions |
 | Solargene | $34.99 | 777 77% | 23k | $816k (exactly $815,617) | Alexander Semenov | |
 | Dystopika | older | $6.99 | 3,413 95% | 102k | $716k (exactly $715,706) | Voids Within |
 | Modulus: Factory Automation | $24.99 | 817 90% | 25k | $613k (exactly $612,505) | Happy Volcano | |
 | Microtopia | $19.99 | 881 87% | 26k | $528k (exactly $528,336) | Cordyceps Collective | |
 | MegaFactory Titan | $19.99 | 150 76% | 4.5k | $90k (exactly $89,955) | Q Switched Productions, LLC | |
 | Technotopia | $4.99 | 599 86% | 18k | $90k (exactly $89,670) | Yustas | |
 | Desperate Place | $10.99 | 253 66% | 7.6k | $83k (exactly $83,414) | BruceGalaxy | |
 | Amberspire | $24.99 | 58 86% | 1.7k | $43k (exactly $43,483) | Lunar Division | |
 | Oasis Mission: Colony Sim | $14.99 | 91 56% | 2.7k | $41k (exactly $40,923) | Lunar pug studio | |
 | Possible One: Lunar Industries | · EA | $24.99 | 53 64% | 1.6k | $40k (exactly $39,734) | Upstairs Games |
 | Space Drilling Station | · EA | $19.99 | 63 90% | 1.9k | $38k (exactly $37,781) | Ayota Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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