Do I ship it?

GamesGod GameGod Game + Strategy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a God Game Strategy game?

God Game + Strategy

Of 138 developers who shipped a God Game Strategy 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.. 209 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 $2.1k, ×3.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $550k, ×886 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 209 games are announced against 82 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 209 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
God Game + Strategy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 138
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $772 → $2.1k → $1.9k → $7.5k → $12k → $987 (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for God Game + Strategy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 138
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,100)
Top 25% $26k (exactly $26,258)
Top 5% $556k (exactly $556,277)
Developers, 2 yr 138
Released games 493
Announced 209
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 25% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Strategy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Building
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing
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 75% positive over 21,380 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $550k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 79 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 209 games are announced against 82 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

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
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
Stonehearth older $19.99 10,652 76% 320k $6.4M (exactly $6,388,004) Radiant Entertainment
War for the Overworld older $29.99 6,495 85% 195k $5.8M (exactly $5,843,552) Brightrock Games
SimCity™ 4 Deluxe Edition older $19.99 8,495 81% 255k $5.1M (exactly $5,094,452) EA - Maxis, Aspyr (Mac)
SPORE™ Galactic Adventures older $19.99 7,249 89% 217k $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) EA - Maxis
Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2 older $19.99 7,206 84% 216k $4.3M (exactly $4,321,438) Brilliant Game Studios
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
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Gold Gold Adventure Gold $24.99 907 70% 27k $680k (exactly $679,978) Can Can Can a Man
Dungeon Tycoon $14.99 1,472 78% 44k $662k (exactly $661,958) Lunheim Studios
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

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