Games › City Builder › City Builder + Rome
Should I ship a Roman City Builder?
City Builder + Rome
Only 9 developers shipped a Roman 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, Anno 117: Pax Romana, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 10 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $420k, ×673 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $160k; 1 in 20 cleared $21M, ×34819 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 10 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $160k (exactly $159,520) |
|---|---|
| Median | $423k (exactly $422,831) |
| Top 25% | $661k (exactly $661,235) |
| Top 5% | $22M (exactly $21,866,355) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 30 |
| Announced | 10 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $24.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- Rome
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder
- Price point
- $24.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 20,174 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $160k. 10 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
- + Post-apocalypticPoor odds
Comparable games
Anno 117: Pax Romana 2025 · $22M 
Citadelum 2024 · $753k 
Blackthorn Arena: Reforged 2024 · $661k 
Roman Triumph: Survival City Builder 2025 · $556k 
Pax Augusta 2025 · $423k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Anno 117: Pax Romana | $59.99 | 12,150 69% | 365k | $22M (exactly $21,866,355) | Ubisoft Mainz | |
| | Citadelum | $24.99 | 1,005 83% | 30k | $753k (exactly $753,448) | Abylight Barcelona | |
| | Blackthorn Arena: Reforged | $24.99 | 882 66% | 26k | $661k (exactly $661,235) | PersonaeGame Studio | |
| | Roman Triumph: Survival City Builder | $24.99 | 742 83% | 22k | $556k (exactly $556,277) | Coreffect Interactive | |
| | Pax Augusta | $24.99 | 564 69% | 17k | $423k (exactly $422,831) | Roger Gassmann | |
 | Caesar™ 3 | older | $5.99 | 2,125 92% | 64k | $382k (exactly $381,862) | Impressions Games |
 | Ancient Wars: Sparta Definitive Edition | · EA older | $19.99 | 453 74% | 14k | $272k (exactly $271,664) | JOTASOFT STUDIOS |
 | Caesar™ IV | older | $9.99 | 821 71% | 25k | $246k (exactly $246,054) | Tilted Mill Entertainment, Inc. |
 | CivCity: Rome | older | $9.99 | 814 71% | 24k | $244k (exactly $243,956) | FireFly Studios, Firaxis Games |
 | Grand Ages: Rome | older | $9.99 | 618 76% | 19k | $185k (exactly $185,215) | Haemimont Games |
 | Summa Expeditionis | $19.99 | 305 68% | 9.2k | $183k (exactly $182,908) | Lobico Games | |
 | Pompeii: The Legacy | $19.99 | 266 80% | 8.0k | $160k (exactly $159,520) | Siscia Games | |
 | Explorers of Esmar | · EA | $15.99 | 35 85% | 1.1k | $17k (exactly $16,790) | Tipri Games |
 | Nova Patria | $11.99 | 22 100% | 660 | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) | Sower Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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