Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Science

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science City Builder?

City Builder + Science

Only 11 developers shipped a Science 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, Timberborn, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $40k, ×63 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $40M, ×64401 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 63.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 20 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $1.2k → $90k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Median $40k (exactly $39,734)
Top 25% $295k (exactly $294,632)
Top 5% $40M (exactly $40,443,891)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 32
Announced 20
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $19.99

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 75% on the market, supply 165% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Science
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
Price point
$19.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 42,358 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $40k, 1 in 4 over $290k, 1 in 20 over $40M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

Timberborn 2026 · $40M The Universim 2024 · $7.6M Prehistoric Kingdom 2022 · EA · $5.1M Per Aspera 2020 · $3.7M Star Birds 2025 · EA · $1.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
The Universim older $29.99 8,465 79% 254k $7.6M (exactly $7,615,960) Crytivo
Prehistoric Kingdom · EA older $29.99 5,640 90% 169k $5.1M (exactly $5,074,308) Blue Meridian
Per Aspera older $29.99 4,105 76% 123k $3.7M (exactly $3,693,268) Tlön Industries
Star Birds · EA $19.99 2,990 92% 90k $1.8M (exactly $1,793,103) Toukana Interactive
InfraSpace older $24.99 1,638 82% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,228,009) Dionic Software
Imagine Earth older $24.99 810 79% 24k $607k (exactly $607,257) Serious Bros.
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
Reactor Tech² older $14.99 353 68% 11k $159k (exactly $158,744) 4Co
Life Below $29.99 150 80% 4.5k $135k (exactly $134,955) Megapop
MegaFactory Titan $19.99 150 76% 4.5k $90k (exactly $89,955) Q Switched Productions, LLC
Possible One: Lunar Industries · EA $24.99 53 64% 1.6k $40k (exactly $39,734) Upstairs Games
Mistward $11.99 74 59% 2.2k $27k (exactly $26,618) Sokpop Collective
Terraspace $7.99 5 20% 150 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Black Apple
To the Stars Idle $2.99 10 80% 300 $897 (exactly $897) Denys Osypenko
Asteroid Colony · EA $5.99 4 100% 120 $719 (exactly $719) Christian Lutnik

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