Do I ship it?

GamesCity BuilderCity Builder + Loot

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 7.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 22 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Loot
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $6.0k → $1.0k → $1.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Loot: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
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.

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
Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Loot
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 1,374 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $120k, 1 in 20 over $380k.

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.

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
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.