Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Nature

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Nature City Builder?

City Builder + Nature

Of 88 developers who shipped a Nature 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.. 139 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $3.2M, ×5143 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 139 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 139 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Nature
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 88
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $60k → $27k → $3.3k → $1.9k → $7.8k → $36k → $19k (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Nature: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 88
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Top 25% $86k (exactly $86,342)
Top 5% $3.2M (exactly $3,229,708)
Developers, 2 yr 88
Released games 206
Announced 139
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 85% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Nature
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Building, Sandbox
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Atmospheric, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 82,331 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 $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $86k, 1 in 20 over $3.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 8 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 139 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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

Planet Zoo 2019 · $110M Timberborn 2026 · $40M Going Medieval 2026 · $15M Two Point Museum 2025 · $8.7M The Wandering Village 2025 · $7.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Planet Zoo older $44.99 81,191 90% 2.4M $110M (exactly $109,583,493) Frontier Developments
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
Going Medieval $29.99 17,032 88% 511k $15M (exactly $15,323,690) Foxy Voxel
Two Point Museum $29.99 9,626 95% 289k $8.7M (exactly $8,660,512) Two Point Studios
The Wandering Village $29.99 7,734 91% 232k $7.0M (exactly $6,958,280) Stray Fawn Studio
Terra Nil older $24.99 8,035 87% 241k $6.0M (exactly $6,023,840) Free Lives, Clockwork Acorn
Townscaper older $5.99 20,085 95% 603k $3.6M (exactly $3,609,274) Oskar Stålberg
Let's School older $19.99 5,887 92% 177k $3.5M (exactly $3,530,434) Pathea Games
Flotsam $24.99 4,308 80% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,229,708) Pajama Llama Games
Reus 2 older $24.99 2,133 94% 64k $1.6M (exactly $1,599,110) Abbey Games
Laysara: Summit Kingdom $24.99 1,421 80% 43k $1.1M (exactly $1,065,324) Quite OK Games
Endzone 2 $29.99 894 65% 27k $804k (exactly $804,332) Gentlymad Studios
Synergy $24.99 693 79% 21k $520k (exactly $519,542) Leikir Studio
Birdwatching Notebook $9.99 1,588 97% 48k $476k (exactly $475,924) Biekka Games
Industry Giant 4.0 $24.99 506 33% 15k $379k (exactly $379,348) Don VS Dodo

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