Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tabletop City Builder?

City Builder + Tabletop

Of 31 developers who shipped a Tabletop 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.. 32 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $43k, ×69 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 32 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 32 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.1k → $11k → $6.3k → $18k → $718 → $3.9k → $446 (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $8.2k (exactly $8,247)
Top 5% $43k (exactly $43,483)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 84
Announced 32
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 up 20% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Tabletop
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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, Tabletop; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Strategy, Base Building
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Isometric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 1,240 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $720, 1 in 4 over $8.2k, 1 in 20 over $43k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

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

Stacklands 2022 · $7.0M Dungeon Alchemist 2022 · EA · $3.6M dotAGE 2023 · $1.4M Cardboard Town 2023 · $1.2M As Far As The Eye 2020 · $1.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stacklands older $7.99 29,244 96% 877k $7.0M (exactly $7,009,787) Sokpop Collective
Dungeon Alchemist · EA older $44.99 2,666 94% 80k $3.6M (exactly $3,598,300) Briganti
dotAGE older $17.59 2,560 94% 77k $1.4M (exactly $1,350,912) Michele Pirovano
Cardboard Town older $19.99 2,051 79% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,985) Stratera Games, cukuto
As Far As The Eye older $24.99 1,640 73% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,508) Unexpected
Blood Rage: Digital Edition older $19.99 477 58% 14k $286k (exactly $286,057) Endava
The Banished Vault older $24.99 189 78% 5.7k $142k (exactly $141,693) Lunar Division
Battle On! Hero Academy $4.99 756 83% 23k $113k (exactly $113,173) MMUnit
Defend the Rook older $17.99 189 73% 5.7k $102k (exactly $102,003) One Up Plus
Dawnmaker older $14.99 156 91% 4.7k $70k (exactly $70,153) Arpentor Studio
Amberspire $24.99 58 86% 1.7k $43k (exactly $43,483) Lunar Division
Toads of the Bayou $9.99 137 72% 4.1k $41k (exactly $41,059) La Grange
Master of Realms · EA $39.99 27 81% 810 $32k (exactly $32,392) TheMasterForge LLC
Paper Kingdom $12.99 65 61% 2.0k $25k (exactly $25,330) obece
Hexagod · EA $7.99 84 88% 2.5k $20k (exactly $20,135) Aarimous
WAGON $10.99 38 94% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,529) de_husk
Wild Country $24.99 11 54% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Lost Native
CrafTAE $7.99 25 88% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) mappe
Tranquil Isle $4.99 39 89% 1.2k $5.8k (exactly $5,838) Tom Daly

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