Do I ship it?

GamesCity BuilderCity Builder + Time Management

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 155 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 114
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $5.8k → $2.9k → $3.6k → $4.5k → $2.9k → $2.7k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 114
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.

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
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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, 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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

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.

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

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.