Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Crime
Should I ship a Crime Resource Management game?
Resource Management + Crime
Of 38 developers who shipped a Crime Resource Management game 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.. 117 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×349 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 117 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $390 (exactly $390) |
|---|---|
| Median | $959 (exactly $959) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,985) |
| Top 5% | $219k (exactly $219,334) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 87 |
| Announced | 117 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 775% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Resource Management
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Crime
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Life Sim
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 8,778 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $390. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 117 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Resource Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + WesternFair
- + SnowFair
- + JRPGFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + HorsesFair
- + Quick-Time EventsFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Evil Genius 2: World Domination | older | $39.99 | 11,255 69% | 338k | $14M (exactly $13,502,624) | Rebellion |
| | Drug Dealer Simulator | older | $19.99 | 18,297 85% | 549k | $11M (exactly $10,972,711) | Byterunners |
| | Cash Cleaner Simulator | $19.99 | 7,334 92% | 220k | $4.4M (exactly $4,398,200) | Mind Control Games | |
| | Drug Dealer Simulator 2 | older | $24.99 | 5,480 69% | 164k | $4.1M (exactly $4,108,356) | Byterunners |
| | Definitely Not Fried Chicken | older | $24.99 | 2,161 72% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,620,102) | Dope Games |
| | Ravenous Devils | older | $4.99 | 9,477 92% | 284k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,707) | Bad Vices Games |
| | City of Gangsters | older | $29.99 | 1,332 73% | 40k | $1.2M (exactly $1,198,400) | SomaSim |
| | Basement | older | $19.99 | 1,684 76% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Halfbus |
| | Plutocracy | · EA older | $24.99 | 1,305 79% | 39k | $978k (exactly $978,358) | Redwood |
| | Weedcraft Inc | older | $19.99 | 1,549 79% | 46k | $929k (exactly $928,935) | Vile Monarch |
| | The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire | · EA | $18.99 | 385 81% | 12k | $219k (exactly $219,334) | BEF GAMES |
| | BM game Co. | $7.99 | 236 75% | 7.1k | $57k (exactly $56,569) | zzzgame | |
| | ZOMBUTCHER: Monster Business Simulator | $12.99 | 135 69% | 4.1k | $53k (exactly $52,610) | ODIUS | |
| | BM Love Cafe | $7.99 | 204 77% | 6.1k | $49k (exactly $48,899) | zzzgame | |
| | LAN Party Adventures | $14.99 | 93 89% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | LEAP Game Studios | |
| | Meat Grinder: Hotdog Simulator | $7.99 | 163 80% | 4.9k | $39k (exactly $39,071) | Panic Panda | |
| | My Drug Cartel | · EA | $24.99 | 48 50% | 1.4k | $36k (exactly $35,986) | Gigicom |
| | The Brewline | $9.99 | 110 84% | 3.3k | $33k (exactly $32,967) | Alcora Games | |
| | Rich List: The Order | · EA | $14.99 | 70 90% | 2.1k | $31k (exactly $31,479) | YUANYE TECH |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.