Games › Economy › Economy + God Game
Should I ship a God Game Economy game?
Economy + God Game
Of 47 developers who shipped a God Game Economy 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.. 58 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.8k, ×4.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $480. Revenue is up 215% on the market; 58 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.8k (exactly $2,848) |
| Top 25% | $45k (exactly $45,205) |
| Top 5% | $662k (exactly $661,958) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 47 |
| Released games | 141 |
| Announced | 58 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 up 215% on the market, supply 75% 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.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy, God Game; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Strategy
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 19,691 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
Comparable games
Planet Coaster 2016 · $80M 
Planet Coaster 2 2024 · $20M 
Dungeons 3 2017 · $11M 
SimCity™ 4 Deluxe Edition 2010 · $5.1M 
The Tenants 2022 · $4.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Planet Coaster | older | $44.99 | 59,443 91% | 1.8M | $80M (exactly $80,230,217) | Frontier Developments, Aspyr (Mac) |
| | Planet Coaster 2 | $49.99 | 13,047 74% | 391k | $20M (exactly $19,566,586) | Frontier Developments | |
| | Dungeons 3 | older | $29.99 | 12,648 93% | 379k | $11M (exactly $11,379,406) | Realmforge Studios |
| | SimCity™ 4 Deluxe Edition | older | $19.99 | 8,495 81% | 255k | $5.1M (exactly $5,094,452) | EA - Maxis, Aspyr (Mac) |
| | The Tenants | older | $19.99 | 7,071 79% | 212k | $4.2M (exactly $4,240,479) | EndGameLoop Games |
 | Tropico 4 | older | $14.99 | 8,211 91% | 246k | $3.7M (exactly $3,692,487) | Haemimont Games |
 | MMORPG Tycoon 2 | · EA older | $24.99 | 2,977 86% | 89k | $2.2M (exactly $2,231,857) | VectorStorm Pty Ltd |
 | Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,579 55% | 107k | $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) | Klabater |
 | The Settlers: New Allies | older | $39.99 | 1,175 49% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,409,648) | Ubisoft Düsseldorf |
 | Driftland: The Magic Revival | older | $19.99 | 1,439 73% | 43k | $863k (exactly $862,968) | Star Drifters |
 | Microcivilization | $17.99 | 1,437 78% | 43k | $776k (exactly $775,549) | Ondrej Homola | |
 | Dungeon Tycoon | $14.99 | 1,472 78% | 44k | $662k (exactly $661,958) | Lunheim Studios | |
 | Fata Deum - The God Sim | · EA | $29.99 | 410 59% | 12k | $369k (exactly $368,877) | 42 Bits Entertainment |
 | Mars Attracts | · EA | $24.99 | 209 91% | 6.3k | $157k (exactly $156,687) | Outlier |
 | Execute | $5.99 | 679 91% | 20k | $122k (exactly $122,016) | Payne Robinson | |
 | STARIO: Haven Tower | · EA | $13.99 | 280 93% | 8.4k | $118k (exactly $117,516) | Stargate Games |
 | MMO98 | $6.99 | 511 69% | 15k | $107k (exactly $107,157) | BiteMe Games | |
 | 拖拖拉拉小菲镇 | $1.99 | 1,528 98% | 46k | $91k (exactly $91,222) | LuzhangGames | |
 | Goblin Camp | $19.99 | 118 76% | 3.5k | $71k (exactly $70,765) | Korppi Games Ltd |
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.