Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Incremental City Builder?

City Builder + Incremental

Of 75 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 96 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $600. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 96 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 96 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 75
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $32k → $374 → $839 → $1.9k → $839 → $2.7k → $1.8k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 75
Bottom 30% $594 (exactly $594)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,012)
Top 5% $247k (exactly $246,817)
Developers, 2 yr 75
Released games 181
Announced 96
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 125% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables

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, Incremental; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Building, Simulation
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 11,346 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 52 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + Hidden ObjectFair16 devs · median $1.3k · 20 announced
  4. + ArcadeFair28 devs · median $898 · 27 announced
  5. + RacingLong shot12 devs · median $299 · 9 announced
  6. + RomePoor odds9 devs · median $423k · 10 announced
  7. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 25 announced
  8. + HorrorPoor odds10 devs · median $157k · 21 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

Microcivilization 2026 · $776k Crusaders Quest : Hero Town 2026 · $538k Immortal Family 2024 · $509k Hearth and Hamlet 2026 · $491k Gourdlets 2024 · $293k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Microcivilization $17.99 1,437 78% 43k $776k (exactly $775,549) Ondrej Homola
Crusaders Quest : Hero Town $6.99 2,564 76% 77k $538k (exactly $537,671) CQ LABS
Immortal Family older $13.99 1,213 54% 36k $509k (exactly $509,096) 一起来修仙工作室
Hearth and Hamlet $7.99 2,050 79% 62k $491k (exactly $491,385) Phorust Studios
Gourdlets older $4.99 1,954 92% 59k $293k (exactly $292,514) AuntyGames
Goblin Nest $6.99 1,177 93% 35k $247k (exactly $246,817) BadColor
IDLE BOSS RUSH $9.99 820 66% 25k $246k (exactly $245,754) Irid Games
Factory Town Idle older $4.99 1,232 90% 37k $184k (exactly $184,430) Erik Asmussen
Berserk B.I.T.S $6.99 667 81% 20k $140k (exactly $139,870) BerserkBoy Games
Midori no Kaori $9.99 464 94% 14k $139k (exactly $139,061) TheLaba
Loafing Town $6.99 531 85% 16k $111k (exactly $111,351) GoblinZz
Fill Up The Hole $2.99 1,165 90% 35k $105k (exactly $104,501) Fluffy Lotus
Crownhold $6.99 471 84% 14k $99k (exactly $98,769) Tobias Mikula

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