Games › City Builder › City Builder + Magic
Should I ship a Magic City Builder?
City Builder + Magic
Of 40 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 84 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 $5.7k, ×9.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.1M, ×3495 the market median. Revenue is up 2055% on the market; 84 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.1k (exactly $1,078) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.7k (exactly $5,662) |
| Top 25% | $34k (exactly $34,183) |
| Top 5% | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,686) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 99 |
| Announced | 84 |
| 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 up 2055% on the market, supply 25% 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
- Magic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Strategy, Base Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Stylized, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 12,398 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 9 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
City Builder with a different setting or mood, 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
Becastled 2025 · $3.2M 
Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim 2025 · $2.2M 
Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes 2013 · $1.2M 
Gord 2023 · $1.2M 
SpellForce 3 Fallen God 2020 · $801k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Becastled | $19.99 | 5,349 81% | 160k | $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) | Mana Potion Studios | |
| | Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim | $24.90 | 2,938 77% | 88k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,686) | Rockbee Team | |
| | Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes | older | $24.99 | 1,655 78% | 50k | $1.2M (exactly $1,240,754) | Stardock Entertainment |
| | Gord | older | $49.99 | 809 53% | 24k | $1.2M (exactly $1,213,257) | Covenant.dev |
| | SpellForce 3 Fallen God | older | $19.99 | 1,335 86% | 40k | $801k (exactly $800,599) | Grimlore Games |
 | Conan Unconquered | older | $19.99 | 1,203 70% | 36k | $721k (exactly $721,439) | Petroglyph |
 | Masters of Albion | · EA | $24.99 | 607 64% | 18k | $455k (exactly $455,068) | 22cans |
 | Crown of Greed | $19.99 | 680 60% | 20k | $408k (exactly $407,796) | BLUM Entertainment | |
 | holoVillage: Our Cozy Days | $24.99 | 518 83% | 16k | $388k (exactly $388,345) | Roboqlo | |
 | There Are No Orcs | $8.99 | 1,188 93% | 36k | $320k (exactly $320,404) | BaseTrade Studio | |
 | Castle Craft | $19.99 | 480 82% | 14k | $288k (exactly $287,856) | Twin Earth | |
 | Loafing Town | $6.99 | 531 85% | 16k | $111k (exactly $111,351) | GoblinZz | |
 | Mistwinter Bay | $29.99 | 50 84% | 1.5k | $45k (exactly $44,985) | Swordlake Entertainment | |
 | Lords of Solgrund | $19.99 | 57 77% | 1.7k | $34k (exactly $34,183) | Sillylas |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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