Do I ship it?

Games › God Game › God Game + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Resource Management God Game?

God Game + Resource Management

Of 75 developers who shipped a Resource Management God 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.. 126 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×6.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×725 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 126 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 126 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
God Game + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 75
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $45k → $6.9k → $2.7k → $1.1k → $2.2k → $22k → $1.6k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for God Game + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 75
Bottom 30% $598 (exactly $598)
Median $4.3k (exactly $4,315)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,331)
Top 5% $455k (exactly $455,068)
Developers, 2 yr 75
Released games 199
Announced 126
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 down 80% on the market, supply 90% 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.

God Game
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
God Game, Resource Management; 8 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
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 6,620 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $4.3k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $450k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 126 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + HistoricalFair19 devs · median $12k · 28 announced
  2. + EconomyFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  3. + PuzzleFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  4. + Inventory ManagementFair16 devs · median $1.1k · 15 announced
  5. + DestructionFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  6. + DystopianFair14 devs · median $898 · 10 announced
  7. + IdlerFair91 devs · median $839 · 95 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair79 devs · median $807 · 71 announced
  9. + ArcadeLong shot17 devs · median $390 · 20 announced
  10. + Farming SimLong shot22 devs · median $359 · 24 announced
  11. + AgricultureLong shot9 devs · median $180 · 7 announced
  12. + Base BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $28k · 77 announced

All 96 pairs on the God Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

SPORE™ 2008 · $40M Craft The World 2014 · $8.6M The Universim 2024 · $7.6M Tropico 4 2011 · $3.7M Rise to Ruins 2019 · $3.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SPORE™ older $19.99 66,871 92% 2.0M $40M (exactly $40,102,539) Maxis™
Craft The World older $18.99 15,074 88% 452k $8.6M (exactly $8,587,658) Dekovir Entertainment, Sibear Games
The Universim older $29.99 8,465 79% 254k $7.6M (exactly $7,615,960) Crytivo
Tropico 4 older $14.99 8,211 91% 246k $3.7M (exactly $3,692,487) Haemimont Games
Rise to Ruins older $14.99 7,234 87% 217k $3.3M (exactly $3,253,130) Raymond Doerr
Reus 2 older $24.99 2,133 94% 64k $1.6M (exactly $1,599,110) Abbey Games
Reus older $9.99 4,891 77% 147k $1.5M (exactly $1,465,833) Abbey Games
Stardeus · EA older $29.99 1,430 87% 43k $1.3M (exactly $1,286,571) Kodo Linija
Honey, I Joined a Cult older $25.99 1,380 73% 41k $1.1M (exactly $1,075,986) Sole Survivor Games
Sintopia $34.99 951 80% 29k $998k (exactly $998,265) Piraknights Games
Microcivilization $17.99 1,437 78% 43k $776k (exactly $775,549) Ondrej Homola
Roman Triumph: Survival City Builder $24.99 742 83% 22k $556k (exactly $556,277) Coreffect Interactive
Masters of Albion · EA $24.99 607 64% 18k $455k (exactly $455,068) 22cans
Fata Deum - The God Sim · EA $29.99 410 59% 12k $369k (exactly $368,877) 42 Bits Entertainment
Ecosystem $19.99 601 76% 18k $360k (exactly $360,420) Tom Johnson
Planetary Life · EA $11.99 912 94% 27k $328k (exactly $328,046) Sotenbox
Sinner Maker · EA $9.66 545 91% 16k $158k (exactly $157,941) Pantokrator
Mars Attracts · EA $24.99 209 91% 6.3k $157k (exactly $156,687) Outlier
Extinction Day $19.99 206 74% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) DryGin Studios

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