Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Roguelike

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelike City Builder?

City Builder + Roguelike

Of 67 developers who shipped a Roguelike 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.. 108 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $12k, ×19 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×2034 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 108 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 18.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 108 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Roguelike
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 67
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $3.5k → $3.6k → $29k → $49k → $11k → $7.9k (still earning) → $6.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Roguelike: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 67
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $12k (exactly $11,692)
Top 25% $81k (exactly $80,946)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,277,361)
Developers, 2 yr 67
Released games 121
Announced 108
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 down 70% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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
Roguelike
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, Roguelike; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Roguelite
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 28,906 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $12k, 1 in 4 over $80k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 5 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 108 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

City Builder with a different second tag, 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

Dwarf Fortress 2022 · $26M Mini Motorways 2021 · $7.1M The Wandering Village 2025 · $7.0M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M Rise to Ruins 2019 · $3.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dwarf Fortress older $29.99 29,303 94% 879k $26M (exactly $26,363,909) Bay 12 Games
Mini Motorways older $9.99 23,561 96% 707k $7.1M (exactly $7,061,232) Dinosaur Polo Club
The Wandering Village $29.99 7,734 91% 232k $7.0M (exactly $6,958,280) Stray Fawn Studio
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Rise to Ruins older $14.99 7,234 87% 217k $3.3M (exactly $3,253,130) Raymond Doerr
Ratropolis older $17.99 5,187 87% 156k $2.8M (exactly $2,799,424) Cassel Games
Nordhold $19.99 2,875 87% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) StunForge
dotAGE older $17.59 2,560 94% 77k $1.4M (exactly $1,350,912) Michele Pirovano
Drill Core $19.99 2,130 84% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,277,361) Hungry Couch Games
As Far As The Eye older $24.99 1,640 73% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,508) Unexpected
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Anomaly President · EA $14.99 1,376 91% 41k $619k (exactly $618,787) Phew Phew Games
Tower Factory · EA $14.99 1,220 89% 37k $549k (exactly $548,634) Gius Caminiti
Gnomes $9.99 1,757 94% 53k $527k (exactly $526,573) DYSTOPIAN
Combolands: Roguelike Citybuilder $9.99 1,244 97% 37k $373k (exactly $372,827) Crux Games
Here Comes The Swarm · EA $19.99 358 84% 11k $215k (exactly $214,693) CableHook Games

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