Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Magic

Of 141 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 357 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×4.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×487 the market median. Revenue is up 225% on the market; 357 games are announced against 97 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 225% on the market, 357 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 141
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $898 → $899 → $5.1k → $1.2k → $1.6k → $1.2k → $4.0k (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 141
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,098)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,592)
Top 5% $231k (exactly $231,482)
Developers, 2 yr 141
Released games 319
Announced 357
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 225% on the market, supply 120% 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
Magic
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, RPG
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 18,764 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $230k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 8 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 357 games are announced against 97 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 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

Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense 2021 · $9.5M Cultist Simulator 2018 · $6.3M Spellcaster University 2021 · $2.6M Gord 2023 · $1.2M Warriors of the Nile 2020 · $940k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense older $24.99 12,607 86% 378k $9.5M (exactly $9,451,468) AutoAttack Games
Cultist Simulator older $19.99 10,496 82% 315k $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) Weather Factory
Spellcaster University older $24.99 3,424 83% 103k $2.6M (exactly $2,566,973) Sneaky Yak Studio
Gord older $49.99 809 53% 24k $1.2M (exactly $1,213,257) Covenant.dev
Warriors of the Nile older $12.99 2,412 79% 72k $940k (exactly $939,956) Stove Studio
Tower Wizard $2.99 8,787 96% 264k $788k (exactly $788,194) Barribob
Orb of Creation $11.99 2,167 84% 65k $779k (exactly $779,470) MarpleGames
Nevergrind Online older $15.99 1,221 86% 37k $586k (exactly $585,714) Neverworks Games
Titanium Court $14.99 1,094 94% 33k $492k (exactly $491,972) AP Thomson
Masters of Albion · EA $24.99 607 64% 18k $455k (exactly $455,068) 22cans
Click Mage $4.99 2,529 91% 76k $379k (exactly $378,591) Tiny Crow Games
Potion Tycoon $19.99 629 71% 19k $377k (exactly $377,211) Snowhound Games
Master Healer Kale with useless party $4.99 1,879 95% 56k $281k (exactly $281,286) Evrac Studio
Dungeon Inn · EA $12.99 594 92% 18k $231k (exactly $231,482) Cat Society
MoteMancer · EA $29.99 243 91% 7.3k $219k (exactly $218,627) CyanAvatar Studios
Wizdom Academy · EA $21.99 235 62% 7.1k $155k (exactly $155,030) Kipwak Studio, Lake On Fire

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