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Should I ship a Match 3 City Builder?
City Builder + Match 3
Only 3 developers shipped a Match 3 City Builder in the last 2 years. Over 4 years, 10 did: 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.. 6 more are announced, ×6.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
Only 1 developer shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.2k against a market of $630. 6 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.9k (exactly $2,875) |
| Top 25% | $6.1k (exactly $6,105) |
| Top 5% | $44k (exactly $43,756) |
| Developers, 4 yr | 10 |
| Released games | 53 |
| Announced | 6 |
| 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 65% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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
- Match 3
- effort 2 / 10 · high · grid matching rules and cascades
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder, Match 3
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 4 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,305 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 6 games are announced against 1 developer who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 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
Triple Town 2012 · $177k 
Last Resort Island 2018 · $47k 
Ink Reverie 2025 · $44k 
Story of Animal Sprite 2023 · $32k 
Storm Tale 2019 · $24k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Triple Town | older | $9.99 | 591 92% | 18k | $177k (exactly $177,123) | Spry Fox |
| | Last Resort Island | older | $8.99 | 173 87% | 5.2k | $47k (exactly $46,658) | rokaplay |
| | Ink Reverie | $9.99 | 146 74% | 4.4k | $44k (exactly $43,756) | Rolling Cat Studio | |
| | Story of Animal Sprite | older | $8.99 | 117 89% | 3.5k | $32k (exactly $31,555) | Lunaforge Studios |
| | Storm Tale | older | $9.99 | 79 89% | 2.4k | $24k (exactly $23,676) | Green Sauce Games |
 | Tales of the Orient: The Rising Sun | older | $9.99 | 68 83% | 2.0k | $20k (exactly $20,380) | Green Sauce Games |
 | Match Village | older | $3.99 | 51 84% | 1.5k | $6.1k (exactly $6,105) | Rising Moon Games |
 | Tile Tale | older | $4.99 | 35 62% | 1.1k | $5.2k (exactly $5,240) | Sokpop Collective |
 | 5 Star Miami Resort | older | $8.99 | 19 73% | 570 | $5.1k (exactly $5,124) | familyplay |
 | SUBARACITY | older | $4.99 | 26 61% | 780 | $3.9k (exactly $3,892) | ESQUADRA,inc. |
 | Laruaville 16 | $12.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) | LGT SIA | |
 | Spellarium 12 | $12.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) | LGT SIA | |
 | Cursed House 16 | $12.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $1.2k (exactly $1,169) | LGT SIA | |
 | Laruaville 17 | $12.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $779 (exactly $779) | LGT SIA | |
 | Cursed House 6 | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | LGT SIA | |
 | Suika Idle | $2.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $179 (exactly $179) | GoldPumpkin Inc. | |
 | Spellarium 14 Collector's Edition | $19.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | LGT SIA |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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