Do I ship it?

GamesCity BuilderCity Builder + Mythology

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mythological City Builder?

City Builder + Mythology

Only 18 developers shipped a Mythological 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, Microcivilization, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 34 more are announced, ×4.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $19k, ×30 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $770k, ×1235 the market median. Revenue is up 185% on the market; 34 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 29.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 185% on the market, 34 announced, ×4.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Mythology
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5M → $60k → $12k → $3.0k
Outcomes for City Builder + Mythology: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Median $19k (exactly $18,708)
Top 25% $276k (exactly $276,462)
Top 5% $776k (exactly $775,549)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 48
Announced 34
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $14.99

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 185% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Mythology
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; all of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Building, Strategy
Price point
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 4,062 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.0k, median $19k, 1 in 4 over $270k, 1 in 20 over $770k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 5 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

City Builder with a different setting or mood, 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
Yog-Sothoth’s Yard older $10.99 10,207 93% 306k $3.4M (exactly $3,365,248) Bone Nail
Land of the Vikings older $25.99 1,960 72% 59k $1.5M (exactly $1,528,212) Laps Games
Gord older $49.99 809 53% 24k $1.2M (exactly $1,213,257) Covenant.dev
Microcivilization $17.99 1,437 78% 43k $776k (exactly $775,549) Ondrej Homola
Actraiser Renaissance older $29.99 708 74% 21k $637k (exactly $636,988) Square Enix, Sonic Powered
Zeus + Poseidon older $9.99 1,915 96% 57k $574k (exactly $573,926) Impressions Games
Celestial Empire · EA $19.99 709 89% 21k $425k (exactly $425,187) President Studio
Builders of Greece $19.99 537 54% 16k $322k (exactly $322,039) BLUM Entertainment, Strategy Labs
Night is Coming · EA $24.99 387 59% 12k $290k (exactly $290,134) Wild Forest Studio
Blood Rage: Digital Edition older $19.99 477 58% 14k $286k (exactly $286,057) Endava
Builders of Egypt $19.99 461 31% 14k $276k (exactly $276,462) Strategy Labs
These Doomed Isles $14.99 180 66% 5.4k $81k (exactly $80,946) Triplevision Games Limited
Goblin Camp $19.99 118 76% 3.5k $71k (exactly $70,765) Korppi Games Ltd
ArkCraft: The Rebirth of the World $10.99 181 71% 5.4k $60k (exactly $59,676) ZD Yazilim
Realms of Madness $15.99 39 89% 1.2k $19k (exactly $18,708) Robin van der Horst
WarOfGods 2 $29.99 13 76% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Mensa World

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.