Games › Procedural Generation › Procedural Generation + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Procedural Generation game?
Procedural Generation + Modern
Of 24 developers who shipped a Modern-Day Procedural Generation 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.. 37 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×374 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 37 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $8.1k (exactly $8,095) |
| Top 5% | $178k (exactly $177,722) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 68 |
| Announced | 37 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Procedural Generation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Modern
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Procedural Generation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Retro
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,203 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Procedural Generation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SnowFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + DetectiveFair
- + Word GameFair
- + TypingFair
- + IdlerFair
- + LogicFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
112 Operator 2020 · $4.3M 
Urbek City Builder 2022 · $1.0M 
Power to the People 2022 · $212k 
ShantyTown 2026 · $187k 
UNDERWARD 2025 · $178k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 112 Operator | older | $24.99 | 5,688 88% | 171k | $4.3M (exactly $4,264,294) | Jutsu Games |
| | Urbek City Builder | older | $18.99 | 1,830 89% | 55k | $1.0M (exactly $1,042,551) | Fridus |
| | Power to the People | older | $14.99 | 472 79% | 14k | $212k (exactly $212,258) | Rhombico Games |
| | ShantyTown | $14.99 | 415 98% | 12k | $187k (exactly $186,626) | Erik Rempen | |
| | UNDERWARD | $9.99 | 593 73% | 18k | $178k (exactly $177,722) | INTENSE | |
 | After the Collapse | older | $14.99 | 201 77% | 6.0k | $90k (exactly $90,390) | Anarkis Gaming |
 | Political Arena | · EA | $14.99 | 69 73% | 2.1k | $31k (exactly $31,029) | Wayside Press |
 | Boppio | older | $9.99 | 90 52% | 2.7k | $27k (exactly $26,973) | Boppy Games, LLC |
 | Elsie | older | $19.99 | 41 70% | 1.2k | $25k (exactly $24,588) | Knight Shift Games |
 | Silicon City | older | $19.99 | 40 62% | 1.2k | $24k (exactly $23,988) | Polycorne |
 | SKY THE SCRAPER | $11.99 | 44 100% | 1.3k | $16k (exactly $15,827) | Ryo Kobuchi | |
 | Speed Demons 2 | $14.99 | 26 92% | 780 | $12k (exactly $11,692) | Radiangames | |
 | Oil Refinery - The Simulation | $14.99 | 18 38% | 540 | $8.1k (exactly $8,095) | Polygon Art | |
 | Code Tycoon | $9.99 | 15 80% | 450 | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) | Mennen Games | |
 | One Armed Bandit | $4.99 | 17 88% | 510 | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) | Gral | |
 | Sound Syndicate | $19.00 | 3 100% | 90 | $1.7k (exactly $1,710) | NiTToN | |
 | Grid Warriors: Battles | $9.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $899 (exactly $899) | Junjo |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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