Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Building

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building game?

Building

Of 2,190 developers who shipped a Building 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.. 4,310 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×6.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×2675 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 4,310 games are announced against 1,337 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 4,310 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 2,190
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $5.1k → $3.7k → $3.6k → $9.0k → $3.9k → $4.0k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 2,190
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $4.0k (exactly $4,047)
Top 25% $51k (exactly $51,249)
Top 5% $1.7M (exactly $1,679,740)
Developers, 2 yr 2,190
Released games 6,170
Announced 4,310
Effort 5 / 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 up 25% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Building
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
Building
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 1,653,754 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $4.0k, 1 in 4 over $51k, 1 in 20 over $1.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 1,025 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 4,310 games are announced against 1,337 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Building

211 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Class-Based + Building Poor odds $5.1k 11 devs
  2. Action RPG + Building Poor odds $5.0k 82 devs
  3. Sports + Building Poor odds $4.9k 21 devs
  4. Building + Visual Novel Poor odds $4.9k 14 devs
  5. Hunting + Building Poor odds $4.8k 37 devs
  6. Building + Time Management Poor odds $4.7k 262 devs
  7. Building + Mythology Poor odds $4.6k 34 devs
  8. Building + Fantasy Poor odds $4.3k 327 devs
  9. Building + War Poor odds $4.3k 112 devs
  10. Building + Sci-fi Poor odds $4.2k 256 devs
  11. Building + Space Poor odds $4.2k 162 devs
  12. Building + Roguelike Poor odds $4.1k 164 devs
  13. Building + Creature Collector Poor odds $4.1k 86 devs
  14. Building + Medieval Poor odds $4.0k 272 devs
  15. Building + Choices Matter Poor odds $3.9k 126 devs
  16. Space Sim + Building Poor odds $3.9k 71 devs
  17. Building + Cyberpunk Poor odds $3.9k 22 devs
  18. Building + Collectathon Poor odds $3.9k 94 devs
  19. Building + Music Poor odds $3.9k 15 devs
  20. Building + Zombies Poor odds $3.6k 82 devs
  21. Building + Magic Poor odds $3.6k 121 devs
  22. Building + Strategy RPG Poor odds $3.6k 80 devs
  23. Building + Female Protagonist Poor odds $3.4k 48 devs
  24. Building + Hex Grid Poor odds $3.3k 47 devs
  25. CRPG + Building Poor odds $3.3k 17 devs
  26. Co-op Campaign + Building Poor odds $3.3k 16 devs
  27. Building + Strategy Poor odds $3.3k 1,107 devs
  28. Building + Underground Poor odds $3.3k 23 devs
  29. Building + Nature Poor odds $3.1k 268 devs
  30. Building + Deckbuilding Poor odds $3.0k 84 devs
  31. Building + Demons Poor odds $3.0k 22 devs
  32. Stealth + Building Poor odds $3.0k 21 devs
  33. Building + Robots Poor odds $2.9k 62 devs
  34. Building + Idler Poor odds $2.9k 232 devs
  35. Building + Alternate History Poor odds $2.7k 36 devs
  36. Building + Level Editor Poor odds $2.7k 97 devs
  37. Building + Tactical RPG Poor odds $2.5k 35 devs
  38. Action + Building Poor odds $2.5k 468 devs
  39. Building + Physics Poor odds $2.4k 239 devs
  40. Building + Futuristic Poor odds $2.4k 133 devs
  41. 6DOF + Building Poor odds $2.4k 14 devs
  42. Building + Outbreak Sim Poor odds $2.4k 18 devs
  43. FPS + Building Poor odds $2.4k 85 devs
  44. Destruction + Building Poor odds $2.4k 76 devs
  45. Action RTS + Building Poor odds $2.3k 82 devs
  46. Looter Shooter + Building Poor odds $2.2k 22 devs
  47. Building + Card Game Poor odds $2.2k 79 devs
  48. Building + Turn-Based Strategy Poor odds $2.2k 121 devs
  49. PvP + Building Poor odds $2.1k 116 devs
  50. Building + Incremental Poor odds $2.1k 179 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Rust 2018 · $1.4B Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI 2016 · $497M Valheim 2026 · $418M Stardew Valley 2016 · $402M Terraria 2011 · $372M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rust older $39.99 1,167,920 87% 35M $1.4B (exactly $1,401,153,624) Facepunch Studios
Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI older $59.99 276,113 86% 8.3M $497M (exactly $496,920,566) Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linu… (Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux))
Valheim $29.99 464,893 94% 14M $418M (exactly $418,264,232) Iron Gate AB
Stardew Valley older $14.99 894,201 98% 27M $402M (exactly $402,122,190) ConcernedApe
Terraria older $9.99 1,240,388 97% 37M $372M (exactly $371,744,284) Re-Logic
Palworld $29.99 411,947 94% 12M $371M (exactly $370,628,716) Pocketpair
7 Days to Die older $44.99 273,589 87% 8.2M $369M (exactly $369,263,073) The Fun Pimps
The Forest older $19.99 581,431 95% 17M $349M (exactly $348,684,171) Endnight Games Ltd
Garry's Mod older $9.99 1,093,131 96% 33M $328M (exactly $327,611,361) Facepunch Studios
Satisfactory older $39.99 234,993 97% 7.0M $282M (exactly $281,921,102) Coffee Stain Studios
Schedule I · EA $19.99 288,939 97% 8.7M $173M (exactly $173,276,718) TVGS
Dune: Awakening $49.99 66,844 71% 2.0M $100M (exactly $100,245,947) Funcom
Scrap Mechanic $28.99 109,429 92% 3.3M $95M (exactly $95,170,401) Axolot Games
The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome $29.99 56,535 65% 1.7M $51M (exactly $50,864,540) ConchShip Games
My Summer Car $14.99 108,503 94% 3.3M $49M (exactly $48,793,799) Amistech Games
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
Abiotic Factor $34.99 42,075 95% 1.3M $44M (exactly $44,166,128) Deep Field Games

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