Do I ship it?

Games › City Builder › City Builder + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie City Builder?

City Builder + Zombies

Only 16 developers shipped a Zombie City Builder in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, After Inc: Revival, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $8.7k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $790k, ×1272 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 31 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 13.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 31 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
City Builder + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $34k → $4.8k → $645k → $3.6k → $62k → $16k → $2.4k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for City Builder + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Median $8.7k (exactly $8,665)
Top 25% $114k (exactly $114,186)
Top 5% $799k (exactly $798,756)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 57
Announced 31
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 55% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Zombies
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
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 3,102 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $8.7k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $790k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

City Builder with a different setting or mood, 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

They Are Billions 2019 · $42M Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M Colony Survival 2017 · EA · $6.2M The Last Haven 2023 · $867k After Inc: Revival 2026 · $799k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
They Are Billions older $29.99 46,223 85% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,586,833) Numantian Games
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
Colony Survival · EA older $24.95 8,260 92% 248k $6.2M (exactly $6,182,610) Pipliz
The Last Haven older $19.99 1,445 60% 43k $867k (exactly $866,566) Thunder Devs.
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville older $14.99 1,486 86% 45k $668k (exactly $668,254) Northway Games, Sarah Northway
From Glory To Goo · EA older $11.99 1,794 96% 54k $645k (exactly $645,302) Stratagem Blue
Darfall $24.99 491 71% 15k $368k (exactly $368,103) SquareNite
Towns older $4.99 2,400 27% 72k $359k (exactly $359,280) Xavi Canal, Ben Palgi
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室
Final Outpost: Definitive Edition $9.99 208 76% 6.2k $62k (exactly $62,338) Exabyte Games
Last Outpost $7.99 66 72% 2.0k $16k (exactly $15,820) Troyd Games
The Colony 2044 · EA $9.99 32 59% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) Nexrage Studios
Whispers in the Forest · EA $16.99 17 64% 510 $8.7k (exactly $8,665) Atzi Games Team
Monolilith · EA $7.99 17 88% 510 $4.1k (exactly $4,075) Malerouille
Incredible Dracula: Academy of Shadows $6.99 17 70% 510 $3.6k (exactly $3,565) Game Mixer

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