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Should I ship a Time Management City Builder?
City Builder + Time Management
Of 114 developers who shipped a Time Management 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.. 155 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×578 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 155 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,279) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $16,184) |
| Top 5% | $363k (exactly $362,818) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 114 |
| Released games | 288 |
| Announced | 155 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.79 |
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 50% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Time Management
- 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, Time Management; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Management, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.79 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 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 $9.79.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 39,057 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 61 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 155 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Farthest Frontier | $34.99 | 24,444 86% | 733k | $26M (exactly $25,658,867) | Crate Entertainment | |
| | Infection Free Zone | · EA older | $24.99 | 16,568 80% | 497k | $12M (exactly $12,421,030) | Jutsu Games |
| | Parkitect | older | $29.99 | 6,809 94% | 204k | $6.1M (exactly $6,126,057) | Texel Raptor |
| | Tavern Master | older | $14.99 | 12,613 92% | 378k | $5.7M (exactly $5,672,066) | Untitled Studio |
| | The Tenants | older | $19.99 | 7,071 79% | 212k | $4.2M (exactly $4,240,479) | EndGameLoop Games |
| | The King is Watching | $14.99 | 9,006 88% | 270k | $4.0M (exactly $4,049,998) | Hypnohead | |
| | Let's School | older | $19.99 | 5,887 92% | 177k | $3.5M (exactly $3,530,434) | Pathea Games |
| | Cliff Empire | older | $17.99 | 4,194 87% | 126k | $2.3M (exactly $2,263,502) | Lion's Shade |
| | Rail Route | older | $24.99 | 2,400 88% | 72k | $1.8M (exactly $1,799,280) | Bitrich.info |
| | Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,579 55% | 107k | $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) | Klabater |
| | Havendock | $19.99 | 1,504 81% | 45k | $902k (exactly $901,949) | YYZ Studio | |
| | Movies Tycoon | $29.99 | 545 70% | 16k | $490k (exactly $490,336) | PixelCraze s.r.o. | |
| | Birdwatching Notebook | $9.99 | 1,588 97% | 48k | $476k (exactly $475,924) | Biekka Games | |
| | Farm Manager World | $19.99 | 605 68% | 18k | $363k (exactly $362,818) | Cleversan Games | |
| | Zombie Cure Lab | $24.99 | 393 65% | 12k | $295k (exactly $294,632) | Thera Bytes GmbH | |
| | Above the Snow | $24.99 | 383 75% | 11k | $287k (exactly $287,135) | Above the Desk | |
| | Aquapark Tycoon | · EA | $22.99 | 278 89% | 8.3k | $192k (exactly $191,737) | Boxelware |
| | Craftlings | $19.99 | 311 86% | 9.3k | $187k (exactly $186,507) | ARIANO Games GmbH |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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