Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror City Builder?

City Builder + Horror

Only 10 developers shipped a Horror 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, Worshippers of Cthulhu, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 21 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 $160k, ×250 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $19k; 1 in 20 cleared $970k, ×1558 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 21 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 249.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 21 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 10
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $723k → $247k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $19k (exactly $18,873)
Median $157k (exactly $156,687)
Top 25% $723k (exactly $723,238)
Top 5% $978k (exactly $978,358)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 27
Announced 21
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 30% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Horror
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
Price point
$12.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 5,125 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $19k, median $160k, 1 in 4 over $720k, 1 in 20 over $970k.

3 in 10 developers made under $19k. 5 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds17 devs · median $146k · 50 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds32 devs · median $118k · 55 announced
  11. + DiplomacyPoor odds26 devs · median $108k · 47 announced
  12. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds40 devs · median $71k · 85 announced

All 136 pairs on the City Builder page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Yog-Sothoth’s Yard 2023 · $3.4M Worshippers of Cthulhu 2025 · $978k DarkSwitch 2026 · $749k Deck of Haunts 2025 · $723k Pizza Connection 3 2018 · $401k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Yog-Sothoth’s Yard older $10.99 10,207 93% 306k $3.4M (exactly $3,365,248) Bone Nail
Worshippers of Cthulhu $24.99 1,305 80% 39k $978k (exactly $978,358) Crazy Goat Games
DarkSwitch $34.99 714 77% 21k $749k (exactly $749,486) Cyber Temple
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Pizza Connection 3 older $19.99 668 48% 20k $401k (exactly $400,600) Gentlymad Studios
Goblin Nest $6.99 1,177 93% 35k $247k (exactly $246,817) BadColor
Mars Attracts · EA $24.99 209 91% 6.3k $157k (exactly $156,687) Outlier
Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder older $19.99 244 61% 7.3k $146k (exactly $146,327) Black Eye Games
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室
ShoreTiles $6.99 90 74% 2.7k $19k (exactly $18,873) Voxel Studios
WAGON $10.99 38 94% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,529) de_husk
Cursed House 16 $12.99 3 100% 90 $1.2k (exactly $1,169) LGT SIA
Cursed House 6 $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) LGT SIA

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