Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Trading
Should I ship a Trading Resource Management game?
Resource Management + Trading
Of 242 developers who shipped a Trading 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.. 498 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $570k, ×1216 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 498 games are announced against 173 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) |
| Top 25% | $45k (exactly $45,205) |
| Top 5% | $577k (exactly $577,479) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 242 |
| Released games | 458 |
| Announced | 498 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 35% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Trading
- 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
- Resource Management, Trading; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 160,060 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 6 in 10 of the 99 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 498 games are announced against 173 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Resource Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + WesternFair
- + SnowFair
- + JRPGFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + HorsesFair
- + Quick-Time EventsFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Supermarket Simulator | $19.99 | 79,236 92% | 2.4M | $48M (exactly $47,517,829) | Nokta Games | |
| | Europa Universalis V | $59.99 | 25,353 66% | 761k | $46M (exactly $45,627,794) | Paradox Tinto | |
| | Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator | older | $19.99 | 37,870 92% | 1.1M | $23M (exactly $22,710,639) | niceplay games |
| | Drug Dealer Simulator | older | $19.99 | 18,297 85% | 549k | $11M (exactly $10,972,711) | Byterunners |
| | Eco | · EA older | $29.99 | 11,375 80% | 341k | $10M (exactly $10,234,088) | Strange Loop Games |
| | Anno 2205™ | older | $39.99 | 6,115 70% | 183k | $7.3M (exactly $7,336,166) | Blue Byte |
| | Anno 2070™ | older | $19.99 | 11,571 59% | 347k | $6.9M (exactly $6,939,129) | Blue Byte, Related Designs |
| | Railway Empire | older | $29.99 | 7,219 82% | 217k | $6.5M (exactly $6,494,934) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | The Guild 3 | older | $29.99 | 7,120 60% | 214k | $6.4M (exactly $6,405,864) | Purple Lamp, GolemLabs |
| | Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator | $19.90 | 10,118 95% | 304k | $6.0M (exactly $6,040,446) | Blood Pact Studios | |
| | Tiny Bookshop | $19.99 | 6,967 96% | 209k | $4.2M (exactly $4,178,110) | neoludic games | |
| | Storage Hunter Simulator | $24.99 | 3,866 78% | 116k | $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) | Raccoons Studio | |
| | BidKing | $2.99 | 22,238 33% | 667k | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) | MindSurge Network & Games | |
| | Roadside Research | · EA | $14.99 | 3,991 85% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) | Cybernetic Walrus |
| | Mall Simulator | · EA | $13.99 | 3,139 82% | 94k | $1.3M (exactly $1,317,438) | F13 Games |
| | Old Market Simulator | $9.99 | 4,333 87% | 130k | $1.3M (exactly $1,298,600) | Alcedo Games | |
| | Out of the Park Baseball 26 | $49.99 | 819 82% | 25k | $1.2M (exactly $1,228,254) | Out of the Park Developments |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.