Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Wargame

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Wargame City Builder?

City Builder + Wargame

Of 59 developers who shipped a Wargame 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.. 93 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×5.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $750k, ×1199 the market median. Revenue is up 840% on the market; 93 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 840% on the market, 93 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Wargame
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 59
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.1k → $4.8k → $54k → $449 → $13k → $1.0k → $7.5k (still earning) → $3.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Wargame: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 59
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 25% $41k (exactly $41,308)
Top 5% $753k (exactly $753,248)
Developers, 2 yr 59
Released games 147
Announced 93
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 840% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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
Wargame
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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, Wargame; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, RTS
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 8,078 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 $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $41k, 1 in 20 over $750k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 93 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

Kingdom Heroes 8 2021 · $12M ZeroSpace 2026 · EA · $1.4M Medieval Kingdom Wars 2019 · $1.0M War Hospital 2024 · $905k KAISERPUNK 2025 · $795k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Kingdom Heroes 8 older $29.99 12,793 55% 384k $12M (exactly $11,509,862) USERJOY Technology Co.,Ltd.
ZeroSpace · EA $39.99 1,161 78% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,852) Starlance Studios, Ironward
Medieval Kingdom Wars older $14.99 2,233 76% 67k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,180) Reverie World Studios
War Hospital older $29.99 1,006 60% 30k $905k (exactly $905,098) Brave Lamb Studio S.A.
KAISERPUNK $29.99 884 71% 27k $795k (exactly $795,335) Overseer Games
Border Pioneer $14.99 1,675 86% 50k $753k (exactly $753,248) Yahzj Games
Mandate Order · EA $19.99 1,110 81% 33k $666k (exactly $665,667) Digital Sky
Primitive Society Simulator · EA older $19.99 647 83% 19k $388k (exactly $388,006) YSH BigDove
Buggos older $9.99 1,204 88% 36k $361k (exactly $360,839) Intrepid Marmot
There Are No Orcs $8.99 1,188 93% 36k $320k (exactly $320,404) BaseTrade Studio
Castle Craft $19.99 480 82% 14k $288k (exactly $287,856) Twin Earth
Kingdom's Deck $9.99 495 72% 15k $148k (exactly $148,352) Ivan Aco
Warlords Under Siege $9.99 436 77% 13k $131k (exactly $130,669) RedKar Devs
Eyes of War $14.99 268 77% 8.0k $121k (exactly $120,520) Good Mood Games
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室

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