Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Futuristic

Of 164 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 365 more are announced, ×3.6 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 $570; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×968 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 365 games are announced against 101 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 365 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 164
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $15k → $1.6k → $5.5k → $719 → $1.2k → $1.7k → $3.8k (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 164
Bottom 30% $564 (exactly $564)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $8.4k (exactly $8,361)
Top 5% $460k (exactly $459,748)
Developers, 2 yr 164
Released games 348
Announced 365
Effort 4 / 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 350% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Futuristic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Building
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 38,310 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $570, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $8.3k, 1 in 20 over $450k.

3 in 10 developers made under $570. 8 in 10 of the 73 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 365 games are announced against 101 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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

The Alters 2025 · $16M Cronos: The New Dawn 2025 · $14M MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 2021 · $12M Anno 2205™ 2015 · $7.3M Forever Skies 2025 · $7.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries older $29.99 13,347 84% 400k $12M (exactly $12,008,296) Piranha Games Inc.
Anno 2205™ older $39.99 6,115 70% 183k $7.3M (exactly $7,336,166) Blue Byte
Forever Skies $29.99 8,138 78% 244k $7.3M (exactly $7,321,759) Far From Home
Anno 2070™ older $19.99 11,571 59% 347k $6.9M (exactly $6,939,129) Blue Byte, Related Designs
Cliff Empire older $17.99 4,194 87% 126k $2.3M (exactly $2,263,502) Lion's Shade
Terraformers older $19.99 3,031 88% 91k $1.8M (exactly $1,817,691) Asteroid Lab
Industries of Titan older $29.99 1,553 61% 47k $1.4M (exactly $1,397,234) Brace Yourself Games
Slipways older $16.99 2,233 93% 67k $1.1M (exactly $1,138,160) Beetlewing
Farlands $17.99 1,628 89% 49k $879k (exactly $878,632) JanduSoft, Eric Rodríguez
Solargene $34.99 777 77% 23k $816k (exactly $815,617) Alexander Semenov
Solar Expanse - Space Exploration Manager · EA $17.99 1,252 87% 38k $676k (exactly $675,704) SpaceOps
Modulus: Factory Automation $24.99 817 90% 25k $613k (exactly $612,505) Happy Volcano
Microtopia $19.99 881 87% 26k $528k (exactly $528,336) Cordyceps Collective
Outworld Station $18.99 807 84% 24k $460k (exactly $459,748) Trickjump Games Ltd
Eventide Matter $5.99 927 95% 28k $167k (exactly $166,582) Ottropi Games

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