Games › City Builder › City Builder + Trading
Should I ship a Trading City Builder?
City Builder + Trading
Of 45 developers who shipped a Trading 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.. 103 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.1k, ×13 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×827 the market median. Revenue is up 210% on the market; 103 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.1k (exactly $8,091) |
| Top 25% | $85k (exactly $84,530) |
| Top 5% | $520k (exactly $519,542) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 45 |
| Released games | 123 |
| Announced | 103 |
| 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 up 210% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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
- Trading
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder, Trading; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Management, Economy
- Price point
- $9.99 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 $9.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 6,854 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 103 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 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
Anno 2205™ 2015 · $7.3M 
Anno 2070™ 2011 · $6.9M 
Railway Empire 2018 · $6.5M 
Mad Games Tycoon 2 2023 · $5.5M 
Pharaoh™: A New Era 2023 · $3.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Anno 2205™ | older | $39.99 | 6,115 70% | 183k | $7.3M (exactly $7,336,166) | Blue Byte |
| | Anno 2070™ | older | $19.99 | 11,571 59% | 347k | $6.9M (exactly $6,939,129) | Blue Byte, Related Designs |
| | Railway Empire | older | $29.99 | 7,219 82% | 217k | $6.5M (exactly $6,494,934) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | Mad Games Tycoon 2 | older | $24.99 | 7,355 93% | 221k | $5.5M (exactly $5,514,044) | Eggcode |
| | Pharaoh™: A New Era | older | $22.99 | 4,811 75% | 144k | $3.3M (exactly $3,318,147) | Triskell Interactive |
 | Railway Empire 2 | older | $49.99 | 1,966 72% | 59k | $2.9M (exactly $2,948,410) | Gaming Minds Studios |
 | Rise of Industry | older | $29.99 | 3,122 74% | 94k | $2.8M (exactly $2,808,863) | Dapper Penguin Studios |
 | Thriving City: Song | older | $18.99 | 3,054 81% | 92k | $1.7M (exactly $1,739,864) | White Star Studio |
 | Port Royale 4 | older | $39.99 | 1,405 56% | 42k | $1.7M (exactly $1,685,578) | Gaming Minds |
 | Hotel Renovator | older | $24.99 | 2,223 77% | 67k | $1.7M (exactly $1,666,583) | Two Horizons |
 | Mall Simulator | · EA | $13.99 | 3,139 82% | 94k | $1.3M (exactly $1,317,438) | F13 Games |
 | Let Them Trade | $17.99 | 1,070 84% | 32k | $577k (exactly $577,479) | Spaceflower | |
 | Synergy | $24.99 | 693 79% | 21k | $520k (exactly $519,542) | Leikir Studio | |
 | Industry Giant 4.0 | $24.99 | 506 33% | 15k | $379k (exactly $379,348) | Don VS Dodo | |
 | Super Movie Tycoon | $16.99 | 323 73% | 9.7k | $165k (exactly $164,633) | Yuedong Game | |
 | Rise of Industry 2 | $34.99 | 154 55% | 4.6k | $162k (exactly $161,654) | SomaSim | |
 | Creator Chronicles | $11.99 | 424 64% | 13k | $153k (exactly $152,513) | Origin Studio | |
 | Tlatoani: Aztec Cities | $19.99 | 180 83% | 5.4k | $108k (exactly $107,946) | Perspective Games, Bellwood Studios | |
 | Entertainment Simulator | $18.99 | 181 73% | 5.4k | $103k (exactly $103,116) | Grizzbera Studio | |
 | Project Rebearth | $17.99 | 184 70% | 5.5k | $99k (exactly $99,305) | Program Sam |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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