Games › City Builder › City Builder + Shooter
Should I ship a City Builder Shooter?
City Builder + Shooter
Only 13 developers shipped a City Builder Shooter 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, The Ember Guardian, 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 $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×265 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $480 (exactly $480) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,338) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,946) |
| Top 5% | $167k (exactly $166,717) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 27 |
| Announced | 20 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $10.99 |
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 65% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, 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
- Shooter
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder, Shooter
- Price point
- $10.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 704 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
City Builder with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + RacingLong shot
- + RomePoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
The Ember Guardian 2026 · $167k 
Desperate Place 2025 · $83k 
Death row inmates on the run 2--The Resistance 2026 · $18k 
Final Frontier Story 2026 · $13k 
WarOfGods 2 2025 · $12k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Ember Guardian | $19.99 | 278 82% | 8.3k | $167k (exactly $166,717) | Ratbit Games | |
| | Desperate Place | $10.99 | 253 66% | 7.6k | $83k (exactly $83,414) | BruceGalaxy | |
| | Death row inmates on the run 2--The Resistance | $6.99 | 86 55% | 2.6k | $18k (exactly $18,034) | zzzgame | |
| | Final Frontier Story | $8.99 | 48 72% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $12,946) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd | |
| | WarOfGods 2 | $29.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $12k (exactly $11,696) | Mensa World | |
 | Sky Fleet | older | $4.99 | 24 50% | 720 | $3.6k (exactly $3,593) | Enno Games |
 | Grabbus | · EA | $6.99 | 14 78% | 420 | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) | Foxoplasm, LLC |
 | Shadow of the Night | $12.99 | 6 50% | 180 | $2.3k (exactly $2,338) | Uğur ÇELİK | |
 | Doomsday School | older | $9.99 | 6 16% | 180 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | Doomsday |
 | Refuge | older | $4.99 | 12 75% | 360 | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) | CAAMS |
 | Infinite Evo TD | $4.99 | 4 25% | 120 | $599 (exactly $599) | Starchase Games | |
 | SurrounDead Poly Construction | $15.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $480 (exactly $480) | LivingEveryday | |
 | SurrounDead Poly Japan Sakura | · EA | $15.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $480 (exactly $480) | LivingEveryday |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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