Do I ship it?

GamesCity BuilderCity Builder + Local Multiplayer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Multiplayer City Builder?

City Builder + Local Multiplayer

Only 7 developers shipped a Local Multiplayer 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, DSS 2: War Industry, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 10 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $0 against a market of $630. 10 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 10 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Local Multiplayer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 7

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for City Builder + Local Multiplayer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 7
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $0 (exactly $0)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $20,242)
Top 5% $99k (exactly $98,765)
Developers, 2 yr 7
Released games 25
Announced 10
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Local Multiplayer
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, Local Multiplayer
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 35,073 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $0, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $98k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 10 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

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. + 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
Kingdom Two Crowns older $19.99 31,259 90% 938k $19M (exactly $18,746,022) Fury Studios, Coatsink
Game Dev Story older $8.99 1,445 89% 43k $390k (exactly $389,716) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Blood Rage: Digital Edition older $19.99 477 58% 14k $286k (exactly $286,057) Endava
CountryBalls Heroes older $14.99 408 77% 12k $183k (exactly $183,478) Innominate Games
Startopia older $6.99 844 91% 25k $177k (exactly $176,987) My Little Planet Ltd, Mucky Foot Produc… (My Little Planet Ltd, Mucky Foot Productions Ltd)
DSS 2: War Industry $17.99 183 83% 5.5k $99k (exactly $98,765) vikingfabian
Concrete Jungle older $6.99 323 89% 9.7k $68k (exactly $67,733) ColePowered Games
Archeo: Shinar older $12.99 90 72% 2.7k $35k (exactly $35,073) Artists Entertainment
Bee Simulator: The Hive $24.99 27 55% 810 $20k (exactly $20,242) VARSAV Game Studios
Clans to Kingdoms older $5.99 17 35% 510 $3.1k (exactly $3,055) Clans to Kingdoms
Let's Build Wonders: Galaxy $6.99 5 20% 150 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) Sunjoy Meta
Tower Offense $3.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Malte Lehmann, Johanna Josupeit, Tom En… (Malte Lehmann, Johanna Josupeit, Tom Engmann, Philipp Siemoneit)
Block Sky Rise $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Green Goose Corporation
Rulers of Cospaia · EA $9.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) ZanzoDev
Surviving Day! $10.00 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) JJustis

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