Do I ship it?

GamesResource ManagementResource Management + Crime

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 117 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Crime
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $390 → $13k → $959 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Crime: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
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.

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.

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

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
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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $960, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Resource Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.