Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack City Builder?

City Builder + Score Attack

Only 14 developers shipped a Score Attack 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, Monsters are Coming!, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 16 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $730k, ×1167 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 16 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 16 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.3k → $12k → $369k → $1.5k (still earning) → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $89k (exactly $88,591)
Top 5% $733k (exactly $733,045)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 29
Announced 16
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 100% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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
Score Attack
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, Score Attack
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 4,572 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $88k, 1 in 20 over $730k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 16 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

ISLANDERS 2019 · $2.4M Monsters are Coming! 2025 · $733k ISLANDERS: New Shores 2025 · $369k GRIDROAD 2024 · $115k Check Inn 2025 · $89k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ISLANDERS older $4.99 16,104 94% 483k $2.4M (exactly $2,410,769) Coatsink, GrizzlyGames, Stage Clear Stu… (Coatsink, GrizzlyGames, Stage Clear Studios)
Monsters are Coming! $8.99 2,718 79% 82k $733k (exactly $733,045) Ludogram
ISLANDERS: New Shores $9.99 1,230 96% 37k $369k (exactly $368,631) The Station
GRIDROAD $9.99 385 82% 12k $115k (exactly $115,384) RAJACORP
Check Inn $14.99 197 84% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) KishMish Games
Planetiles older $9.99 72 77% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,578) MythicOwl
Railroad Ink Challenge older $7.99 88 82% 2.6k $21k (exactly $21,094) Horrible Guild
Shanshui Haven older $7.99 49 97% 1.5k $12k (exactly $11,745) LeeT Game
hexurb older $4.99 57 73% 1.7k $8.5k (exactly $8,533) byMixNez
Match Village older $3.99 51 84% 1.5k $6.1k (exactly $6,105) Rising Moon Games
AstroScaper $9.99 14 100% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Fun Fortress
Orbiteers $4.99 11 100% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) Northborne Studios
Cosmotiles $4.99 10 100% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Meru Patel
My Tiny Landscape $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Radiant Sloth
Weeks Till Winter $7.99 1 100% 30 $240 (exactly $240) Subnuminal, LLC
Bubblecore: Survivors $3.99 2 100% 60 $239 (exactly $239) King Suslik Games

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