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Should I ship a Military City Builder?
City Builder + Military
Of 43 developers who shipped a Military 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.. 55 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.8k, ×7.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $3.2M, ×5108 the market median. Revenue is up 155% on the market; 55 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $897 (exactly $897) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.8k (exactly $4,844) |
| Top 25% | $121k (exactly $120,520) |
| Top 5% | $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 43 |
| Released games | 106 |
| Announced | 55 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.20 |
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 155% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, 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
- Military
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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 Strategy, Base Building, Building
- Price point
- $9.20 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.20.
The top 10 games average 56% positive over 59,780 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 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
Sid Meier's Civilization VII 2025 · $94M 
Victoria 3 2022 · $62M 
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition 2020 · $39M 
A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA 2018 · $7.4M 
Stronghold: Warlords 2021 · $5.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sid Meier's Civilization VII | $69.99 | 44,789 48% | 1.3M | $94M (exactly $94,043,463) | Firaxis Games | |
| | Victoria 3 | older | $49.99 | 41,251 71% | 1.2M | $62M (exactly $61,864,125) | Paradox Development Studio |
| | Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition | older | $34.99 | 37,093 84% | 1.1M | $39M (exactly $38,936,522) | World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten… (World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires) |
| | A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA | older | $19.99 | 12,326 70% | 370k | $7.4M (exactly $7,391,902) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (M… (CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
| | Stronghold: Warlords | older | $39.99 | 4,449 65% | 133k | $5.3M (exactly $5,337,465) | Firefly Studios |
 | Stronghold Crusader HD (2012) | older | $9.99 | 17,564 97% | 527k | $5.3M (exactly $5,263,931) | Firefly Studios |
 | Ara History Untold: Anniversary Edition | $49.99 | 2,141 68% | 64k | $3.2M (exactly $3,210,858) | Oxide Games | |
 | Becastled | $19.99 | 5,349 81% | 160k | $3.2M (exactly $3,207,795) | Mana Potion Studios | |
 | Stronghold 2: Steam Edition | older | $14.99 | 4,881 88% | 146k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,986) | Firefly Studios |
 | ZeroSpace | · EA | $39.99 | 1,161 78% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) | Starlance Studios, Ironward |
 | Ground of Aces | · EA | $29.99 | 1,415 84% | 42k | $1.3M (exactly $1,273,076) | Blindflug Studios AG |
 | KAISERPUNK | $29.99 | 884 71% | 27k | $795k (exactly $795,335) | Overseer Games | |
 | Citadelum | $24.99 | 1,005 83% | 30k | $753k (exactly $753,448) | Abylight Barcelona | |
 | Mandate Order | · EA | $19.99 | 1,110 81% | 33k | $666k (exactly $665,667) | Digital Sky |
 | Territory: Farming and Warfare | $14.99 | 738 84% | 22k | $332k (exactly $331,879) | Wit Studio | |
 | There Are No Orcs | $8.99 | 1,188 93% | 36k | $320k (exactly $320,404) | BaseTrade Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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