Games › CRPG › CRPG + City Builder
Should I ship a City Builder CRPG?
CRPG + City Builder
Only 11 developers shipped a City Builder CRPG 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, Blackthorn Arena: Reforged, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 23 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.8k, ×4.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $660k, ×441 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 23 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $1.5k (exactly $1,468) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.8k (exactly $6,834) |
| Top 25% | $120k (exactly $119,952) |
| Top 5% | $661k (exactly $661,235) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 26 |
| Announced | 23 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- CRPG
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- City Builder
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG, City Builder
- Price point
- $11.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 66% positive over 1,653 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
Comparable games
Dungeon Alchemist 2022 · EA · $3.6M 
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 2022 · $1.2M 
Blackthorn Arena: Reforged 2024 · $661k 
Immortal Family 2024 · $509k 
Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator 2023 · $343k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dungeon Alchemist | · EA older | $44.99 | 2,666 94% | 80k | $3.6M (exactly $3,598,300) | Briganti |
| | Sword and Fairy Inn 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,013 49% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,207,196) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT |
| | Blackthorn Arena: Reforged | $24.99 | 882 66% | 26k | $661k (exactly $661,235) | PersonaeGame Studio | |
| | Immortal Family | older | $13.99 | 1,213 54% | 36k | $509k (exactly $509,096) | 一起来修仙工作室 |
| | Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator | older | $12.99 | 879 64% | 26k | $343k (exactly $342,546) | Geekon |
 | Creator Chronicles | $11.99 | 424 64% | 13k | $153k (exactly $152,513) | Origin Studio | |
 | A Hero's Rest: An RPG Town Simulator | $24.99 | 160 67% | 4.8k | $120k (exactly $119,952) | Vanargand Games | |
 | REAL ESTATE Simulator - FROM BUM TO MILLIONAIRE | older | $12.99 | 175 44% | 5.3k | $68k (exactly $68,198) | Geekon |
 | PuPu's Adventure Park | $14.99 | 130 64% | 3.9k | $58k (exactly $58,461) | 西梅树工作室 | |
 | KingSim | older | $9.99 | 189 83% | 5.7k | $57k (exactly $56,643) | Fuzzy Pixel Game Studio |
 | WarOfGods 2 | $29.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $12k (exactly $11,696) | Mensa World | |
 | Station Master RPG | · EA | $11.99 | 19 78% | 570 | $6.8k (exactly $6,834) | Telegraph Studios |
 | Alone: Shattered Tribes | $10.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | Super Llama Games | |
 | Aldo: Memory of the Kingdom | $6.99 | 7 57% | 210 | $1.5k (exactly $1,468) | Meleiko | |
 | スローライフサバイバー／SlowLife Survivor | $6.99 | 5 0% | 150 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | MIZUBLUE GAMES | |
 | 生计与沉冤 | $3.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $359 (exactly $359) | XGame游戏工作室 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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