Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Dynamic Narration

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dynamic Narration Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Dynamic Narration

Of 24 developers who shipped a Dynamic Narration 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.. 59 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×939 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 59 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 59 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Dynamic Narration
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $446k → $1.1k → $1.5k (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Dynamic Narration: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $538 (exactly $538)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,525)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 5% $446k (exactly $446,102)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 37
Announced 59
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 200% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Dynamic Narration
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management, Dynamic Narration; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,187 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $440k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Resource Management with a different second tag, 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

Citadelum 2024 · $753k Corruption Town 2024 · EA · $446k Heading Out 2024 · $383k The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation 2023 · EA · $357k Wizards and Warlords 2020 · $76k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Citadelum $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) Abylight Barcelona
Corruption Town · EA $14.99 992 88% 30k $446k (exactly $446,102) BoredBasmati
Heading Out older $19.99 639 74% 19k $383k (exactly $383,208) Serious Sim, Crunching Koalas
The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation · EA older $29.99 397 63% 12k $357k (exactly $357,181) Supercube
Wizards and Warlords older $9.99 253 82% 7.6k $76k (exactly $75,824) Valravn Games
Medieval Legacy $19.99 66 86% 2.0k $40k (exactly $39,580) Ninetoplay
Five nights at Floppa 0 older $3.99 106 96% 3.2k $13k (exactly $12,688) FreezyCat
Clutch Legend: FPS Career Simulator $6.49 37 89% 1.1k $7.2k (exactly $7,204) Federico Mariotti
On the Peril of Parrots older $9.99 20 85% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Spritewrench
Clicker Complex: Vira’s Private Stream $4.99 39 41% 1.2k $5.8k (exactly $5,838) PrincessComplex Games
ORACLE: Humanity, Automated · EA $9.99 18 44% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) ZANKYO GAMES
Ironblood · EA $19.99 7 71% 210 $4.2k (exactly $4,198) Jack Wilds
Breakfall: Nuclear Winter · EA $17.99 7 28% 210 $3.8k (exactly $3,778) Dominik Geuer
ORBITAL $9.99 12 66% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Night Sky Dogs
Vonkelveld · EA $14.99 4 100% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) Software MoosS

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