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Should I ship a Shop Keeper City Builder?
City Builder + Shop Keeper
Of 26 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper 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.. 47 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×457 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 47 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) |
| Top 25% | $21k (exactly $20,679) |
| Top 5% | $287k (exactly $287,135) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 35 |
| Announced | 47 |
| 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 95% on the market, supply 665% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder, Shop Keeper; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 1,557 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 47 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 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
Another Brick in The Mall 2020 · $1.2M 
Blood Bar Tycoon 2025 · $464k 
Above the Snow 2026 · $287k 
Casino Resort Tower 2023 · EA · $79k 
Terminal One 2025 · $58k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Another Brick in The Mall | older | $16.99 | 2,340 83% | 70k | $1.2M (exactly $1,192,698) | The Quadsphere |
| | Blood Bar Tycoon | $19.99 | 773 79% | 23k | $464k (exactly $463,568) | Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickst… (Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickster Productions) | |
| | Above the Snow | $24.99 | 383 75% | 11k | $287k (exactly $287,135) | Above the Desk | |
| | Casino Resort Tower | · EA older | $19.99 | 132 93% | 4.0k | $79k (exactly $79,160) | Cyperk Software |
| | Terminal One | $19.99 | 96 66% | 2.9k | $58k (exactly $57,571) | Terminal Reality | |
 | Service Please | · EA | $11.99 | 94 78% | 2.8k | $34k (exactly $33,812) | Dynamic Dice |
 | Tattoo Tycoon | $29.99 | 37 62% | 1.1k | $33k (exactly $33,289) | CrazyBunch | |
 | Fun Park Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 63 58% | 1.9k | $25k (exactly $24,551) | Flugames |
 | Crafter's Hollow | $9.99 | 69 53% | 2.1k | $21k (exactly $20,679) | Wylde Wisp Games | |
 | Weeb Store Simulator | $6.99 | 23 52% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | AGE One | |
 | Rustbound | $14.99 | 8 37% | 240 | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) | Wylde Wisp Games | |
 | Company Rising | $8.99 | 11 18% | 330 | $3.0k (exactly $2,967) | Director Liu |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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