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Should I ship a Tactical RPG City Builder?
City Builder + Tactical RPG
Of 21 developers who shipped a Tactical RPG 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.. 49 more are announced, ×7.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $53k, ×86 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 49 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,518) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,587) |
| Top 5% | $54k (exactly $53,978) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 58 |
| Announced | 49 |
| 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 80% on the market, supply 50% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Tactical RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder, Tactical RPG; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Strategy, Base Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 62% positive over 839 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.0 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
RimWorld 2018 · $219M 
Kingdom Heroes 8 2021 · $12M 
Gladiator Guild Manager 2024 · $1.7M 
Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes 2013 · $1.2M 
Master of Magic 2022 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | RimWorld | older | $34.99 | 208,693 97% | 6.3M | $219M (exactly $219,065,042) | Ludeon Studios |
| | Kingdom Heroes 8 | older | $29.99 | 12,793 55% | 384k | $12M (exactly $11,509,862) | USERJOY Technology Co.,Ltd. |
| | Gladiator Guild Manager | older | $14.99 | 3,808 80% | 114k | $1.7M (exactly $1,712,458) | Entertainment Forge |
| | Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes | older | $24.99 | 1,655 78% | 50k | $1.2M (exactly $1,240,754) | Stardock Entertainment |
| | Master of Magic | older | $39.99 | 1,023 71% | 31k | $1.2M (exactly $1,227,293) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
 | War Hospital | older | $29.99 | 1,006 60% | 30k | $905k (exactly $905,098) | Brave Lamb Studio S.A. |
 | One Military Camp | older | $24.99 | 684 75% | 21k | $513k (exactly $512,795) | Abylight Barcelona |
 | Dust to the End | older | $11.99 | 1,076 78% | 32k | $387k (exactly $387,037) | Haojoy Game, Zjoy Game |
 | Thrive: Heavy Lies The Crown | $27.99 | 374 54% | 11k | $314k (exactly $314,048) | Zugalu Entertainment | |
 | TFM: The First Men | · EA older | $24.99 | 372 55% | 11k | $279k (exactly $278,888) | Gathering Tree |
 | Outland Kingdoms | · EA | $24.99 | 72 73% | 2.2k | $54k (exactly $53,978) | GBL |
 | Edge Islands | · EA | $17.99 | 93 74% | 2.8k | $50k (exactly $50,192) | LS Games |
 | Oasis Mission: Colony Sim | $14.99 | 91 56% | 2.7k | $41k (exactly $40,923) | Lunar pug studio | |
 | Next Run | $9.99 | 66 75% | 2.0k | $20k (exactly $19,780) | Clarus Victoria | |
 | Scarecropia | $9.99 | 42 88% | 1.3k | $13k (exactly $12,587) | JYP Studio | |
 | Legacy of Sin: Ill-Boding | $12.99 | 23 69% | 690 | $9.0k (exactly $8,963) | Absolute Power Game Studio | |
 | Cult Leader Simulator | $17.99 | 16 50% | 480 | $8.6k (exactly $8,635) | Nhneno | |
 | 中年失业模拟器2-When a man lose his job 2 | $5.99 | 43 60% | 1.3k | $7.7k (exactly $7,727) | Kwing works | |
 | Climber Girl | $7.99 | 19 36% | 570 | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) | AlterLab Development |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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