Games › Crafting › Crafting + Trains
Should I ship a Train Crafting game?
Crafting + Trains
Only 17 developers shipped a Train Crafting game 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, Voidtrain, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $39k, ×62 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $13k; 1 in 20 cleared $7.8M, ×12483 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 30 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $13k (exactly $12,938) |
|---|---|
| Median | $39k (exactly $39,141) |
| Top 25% | $427k (exactly $426,765) |
| Top 5% | $7.8M (exactly $7,839,086) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 45 |
| Announced | 30 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 2%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Crafting; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Building, Exploration
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 17,076 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $13k. 3 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
Comparable games
Factorio 2020 · $201M 
Captain of Industry 2022 · EA · $12M 
Voidtrain 2025 · $7.8M 
Railway Empire 2018 · $6.5M 
Railway Empire 2 2023 · $2.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Factorio | older | $35.00 | 191,814 97% | 5.8M | $201M (exactly $201,404,700) | Wube Software LTD. |
| | Captain of Industry | · EA older | $34.99 | 11,027 90% | 331k | $12M (exactly $11,575,042) | MaFi Games |
| | Voidtrain | $29.99 | 8,713 73% | 261k | $7.8M (exactly $7,839,086) | HypeTrain Digital | |
| | Railway Empire | older | $29.99 | 7,219 82% | 217k | $6.5M (exactly $6,494,934) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | Railway Empire 2 | older | $49.99 | 1,966 72% | 59k | $2.9M (exactly $2,948,410) | Gaming Minds Studios |
 | Zompiercer | · EA older | $19.99 | 4,562 88% | 137k | $2.7M (exactly $2,735,831) | DDDimanN |
 | Factory Town | older | $19.99 | 4,142 90% | 124k | $2.5M (exactly $2,483,957) | Erik Asmussen |
 | Automation Empire | older | $29.99 | 2,584 65% | 78k | $2.3M (exactly $2,324,825) | DOG HOGGLER |
 | Plan B: Terraform | $15.99 | 3,526 91% | 106k | $1.7M (exactly $1,691,422) | Gaddy Games | |
 | Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure | $29.99 | 1,867 82% | 56k | $1.7M (exactly $1,679,740) | Massive Miniteam | |
 | Locomoto | $24.99 | 579 90% | 17k | $434k (exactly $434,076) | Green Tile Digital | |
 | OxyRail | · EA | $14.99 | 949 80% | 28k | $427k (exactly $426,765) | OxygenTech Limited |
 | Heat Death: Survival Train | · EA | $11.99 | 709 77% | 21k | $255k (exactly $255,027) | Mass Game Devs |
 | EverRail | · EA | $14.99 | 372 69% | 11k | $167k (exactly $167,288) | Aesir Interactive |
 | Factory Town 2: Paradise | · EA | $24.99 | 151 89% | 4.5k | $113k (exactly $113,205) | Erik Asmussen |
 | A-Train9 TRAIN CONSTRUCTION | $44.99 | 29 89% | 870 | $39k (exactly $39,141) | ARTDINK | |
 | Wild West Miner Simulator | $5.99 | 181 66% | 5.4k | $33k (exactly $32,526) | Digital Melody |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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