Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Roguelite

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelite City Builder?

City Builder + Roguelite

Of 85 developers who shipped a Roguelite 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.. 153 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $7.9k, ×13 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $790k, ×1272 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 153 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 153 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Roguelite
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 85
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $142k → $222k → $10k → $13k → $38k → $6.5k (still earning) → $5.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Roguelite: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 85
Bottom 30% $2.2k (exactly $2,248)
Median $7.9k (exactly $7,913)
Top 25% $50k (exactly $49,750)
Top 5% $799k (exactly $798,756)
Developers, 2 yr 85
Released games 160
Announced 153
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 30% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Roguelite
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, Roguelite; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Roguelike
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics
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 86% positive over 26,676 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.3k, median $7.9k, 1 in 4 over $49k, 1 in 20 over $790k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.3k. 6 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 153 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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

Against the Storm 2023 · $30M Stacklands 2022 · $7.0M The King is Watching 2025 · $4.0M Yog-Sothoth’s Yard 2023 · $3.4M Ratropolis 2020 · $2.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Against the Storm older $29.99 33,271 94% 998k $30M (exactly $29,933,919) Eremite Games
Stacklands older $7.99 29,244 96% 877k $7.0M (exactly $7,009,787) Sokpop Collective
The King is Watching $14.99 9,006 88% 270k $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) Hypnohead
Yog-Sothoth’s Yard older $10.99 10,207 93% 306k $3.4M (exactly $3,365,248) Bone Nail
Ratropolis older $17.99 5,187 87% 156k $2.8M (exactly $2,799,424) Cassel Games
Cartel Tycoon older $29.99 2,822 75% 85k $2.5M (exactly $2,538,953) Moon Moose
Star Birds · EA $19.99 2,990 92% 90k $1.8M (exactly $1,793,103) Toukana Interactive
Nordhold $19.99 2,875 87% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) StunForge
Gladiator Guild Manager older $14.99 3,808 80% 114k $1.7M (exactly $1,712,458) Entertainment Forge
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
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
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

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