Games › City Builder › City Builder + Loot
Should I ship a Loot City Builder?
City Builder + Loot
Only 11 developers shipped a Loot 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, holoVillage: Our Cozy Days, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×7.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×618 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 22 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.5k (exactly $4,549) |
| Top 25% | $130k (exactly $129,535) |
| Top 5% | $388k (exactly $388,345) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 33 |
| Announced | 22 |
| 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 down 70% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, 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
- Loot
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder, Loot
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 1,374 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
City Builder with a different second tag, 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | War for the Overworld | older | $29.99 | 6,495 85% | 195k | $5.8M (exactly $5,843,552) | Brightrock Games |
| | The Lost Village | older | $11.99 | 2,743 70% | 82k | $987k (exactly $986,657) | FunYoo Games |
| | holoVillage: Our Cozy Days | $24.99 | 518 83% | 16k | $388k (exactly $388,345) | Roboqlo | |
| | Darfall | $24.99 | 491 71% | 15k | $368k (exactly $368,103) | SquareNite | |
| | Dungeon Village | older | $8.99 | 829 88% | 25k | $224k (exactly $223,581) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
| | Dungeon Village 2 | older | $8.99 | 662 86% | 20k | $179k (exactly $178,541) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
| | EcoGnomix | $19.99 | 216 74% | 6.5k | $130k (exactly $129,535) | Irox Games | |
| | Madorica Real Estate | older | $16.99 | 113 92% | 3.4k | $58k (exactly $57,596) | GIFT TEN INDUSTRY K.K. |
| | Tile Miner | older | $14.99 | 57 61% | 1.7k | $26k (exactly $25,633) | nalothchris, swanee734 |
| | Crafter's Hollow | $9.99 | 69 53% | 2.1k | $21k (exactly $20,679) | Wylde Wisp Games | |
| | Backpack Scavenger | $9.99 | 20 55% | 600 | $6.0k (exactly $5,994) | Backpack Scavenger | |
| | Hang up Street | $3.99 | 38 50% | 1.1k | $4.5k (exactly $4,549) | FoxGame | |
| | Rustbound | $14.99 | 8 37% | 240 | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) | Wylde Wisp Games | |
| | Tapper's Fiefdom | · EA | $5.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $1.1k (exactly $1,078) | Fading Interactive |
| | スローライフサバイバー/SlowLife Survivor | $6.99 | 5 0% | 150 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | MIZUBLUE GAMES | |
| | WEREWOLF UTOPIA | · EA | $4.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $449 (exactly $449) | HuanQUKeJi |
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.