Do I ship it?

GamesDestructionDestruction + Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Management Destruction game?

Destruction + Management

Of 36 developers who shipped a Management Destruction 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.. 129 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.1k, ×9.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.1M, ×1788 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 129 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 129 announced, ×5.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Destruction + Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0M → $59k → $173k → $92k → $9.0k → $26k → $5.4k (still earning) → $4.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Destruction + Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Median $6.1k (exactly $6,149)
Top 25% $106k (exactly $106,318)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,122,826)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 111
Announced 129
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 85% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Destruction
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Management
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
Destruction, Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 19,834 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.4k, median $6.1k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $1.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 5 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 129 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Destruction with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Space SimFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 22 announced
  2. + ModernFair26 devs · median $1.6k · 28 announced
  3. + God GameFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair9 devs · median $719 · 14 announced
  5. + Hack and SlashPoor odds19 devs · median $43k · 57 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds15 devs · median $26k · 22 announced
  7. + CapitalismPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 46 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds37 devs · median $13k · 102 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds50 devs · median $11k · 113 announced
  10. + Automobile SimPoor odds22 devs · median $9.0k · 44 announced
  11. + AutomationPoor odds22 devs · median $6.0k · 46 announced
  12. + CraftingPoor odds36 devs · median $4.9k · 101 announced

All 139 pairs on the Destruction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
WorldBox - God Simulator · EA older $19.99 51,071 95% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,627,279) Maxim Karpenko
Tropico 6 older $39.99 19,837 88% 595k $24M (exactly $23,798,449) Limbic Entertainment, Realmforge Studios
Contraband Police older $29.99 24,882 95% 746k $22M (exactly $22,386,335) Crazy Rocks
Gas Station Simulator older $19.99 23,839 88% 715k $14M (exactly $14,296,248) DRAGO entertainment
Dawn of Man older $24.99 17,094 86% 513k $13M (exactly $12,815,372) Madruga Works
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries older $29.99 13,347 84% 400k $12M (exactly $12,008,296) Piranha Games Inc.
Stranded: Alien Dawn older $34.99 9,715 84% 291k $10M (exactly $10,197,836) Haemimont Games
Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance older $39.99 3,395 82% 102k $4.1M (exactly $4,072,982) Slitherine Ltd.
Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 older $24.99 3,634 77% 109k $2.7M (exactly $2,724,410) Games Incubator, Hypnotic Ants
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
ICBM: Escalation $29.99 1,248 86% 37k $1.1M (exactly $1,122,826) SoftWarWare
The Scouring · EA $24.99 1,136 88% 34k $852k (exactly $851,659) Orc Group
Deconstruction Simulator $19.99 1,374 74% 41k $824k (exactly $823,988) Games Incubator, Hypnotic Ants
Keep Digging $6.99 2,927 79% 88k $614k (exactly $613,792) Wild Dog
Fracture Field $6.99 1,196 75% 36k $251k (exactly $250,801) Type Ten
Trainatic $5.99 1,089 89% 33k $196k (exactly $195,693) Ryan Forrester
Extinction Day $19.99 206 74% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) DryGin Studios
Smash Hit Museum $6.99 507 85% 15k $106k (exactly $106,318) InIt Games
Junkyard Builder $14.99 223 70% 6.7k $100k (exactly $100,283) FreeMind S.A.

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