Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Economy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Economy game?

Economy

Of 1,743 developers who shipped an Economy 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.. 3,111 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 $3.2k, ×5.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $660; 1 in 20 cleared $720k, ×1158 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 3,111 games are announced against 1,230 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 3,111 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,743
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.2k → $26k → $6.1k → $7.0k → $8.4k → $5.4k → $3.0k (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,743
Bottom 30% $659 (exactly $659)
Median $3.2k (exactly $3,232)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $32,345)
Top 5% $727k (exactly $727,030)
Developers, 2 yr 1,743
Released games 3,758
Announced 3,111
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Economy
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
Economy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 415,071 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $660, median $3.2k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $720k.

3 in 10 developers made under $660. 7 in 10 of the 681 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 3,111 games are announced against 1,230 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Economy

44 pairs with a settingwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Economy + Science Fair $5.9k 39 devs
  2. Economy + Dogs Fair $899 11 devs
  3. Economy + Farming Poor odds $35k 33 devs
  4. Economy + Mythology Poor odds $19k 14 devs
  5. Economy + Rome Poor odds $17k 11 devs
  6. Economy + Alternate History Poor odds $15k 52 devs
  7. Economy + Historical Poor odds $14k 145 devs
  8. Economy + Artificial Intelligence Poor odds $12k 55 devs
  9. Economy + Romance Poor odds $12k 15 devs
  10. Economy + Zombies Poor odds $10k 21 devs
  11. Economy + Post-apocalyptic Poor odds $8.7k 35 devs
  12. Economy + Horror Poor odds $7.9k 30 devs
  13. Economy + Trains Poor odds $7.2k 31 devs
  14. Economy + Underwater Poor odds $7.2k 27 devs
  15. Economy + Hacking Poor odds $6.3k 13 devs
  16. Economy + Dark Fantasy Poor odds $5.7k 32 devs
  17. Economy + Capitalism Poor odds $4.7k 551 devs
  18. Economy + Nature Poor odds $4.5k 131 devs
  19. Economy + Medieval Poor odds $4.5k 189 devs
  20. Economy + Female Protagonist Poor odds $4.5k 36 devs
  21. Economy + Military Poor odds $4.3k 77 devs
  22. Economy + Fantasy Poor odds $4.2k 186 devs
  23. Economy + Modern Poor odds $3.9k 107 devs
  24. Economy + Animals Poor odds $3.8k 18 devs
  25. Economy + Space Poor odds $3.0k 112 devs
  26. Economy + Underground Poor odds $3.0k 27 devs
  27. Economy + Robots Poor odds $2.7k 18 devs
  28. Economy + Psychological Horror Poor odds $2.7k 22 devs
  29. Economy + War Poor odds $2.5k 95 devs
  30. Economy + Cats Poor odds $2.5k 36 devs
  31. Economy + Demons Poor odds $2.5k 17 devs
  32. Economy + Naval Poor odds $2.3k 12 devs
  33. Economy + Sci-fi Poor odds $2.1k 138 devs
  34. Economy + Cyberpunk Poor odds $1.9k 27 devs
  35. Economy + Mystery Poor odds $1.9k 29 devs
  36. Economy + Magic Poor odds $1.9k 59 devs
  37. Economy + Futuristic Poor odds $1.6k 88 devs
  38. Economy + Crime Poor odds $1.6k 34 devs
  39. Economy + Aliens Poor odds $1.5k 29 devs
  40. Economy + Pirates Poor odds $1.5k 11 devs
  41. Economy + Cold War Poor odds $1.2k 12 devs
  42. Economy + Dystopian Poor odds $1.2k 32 devs
  43. Economy + Horses Dead $70k 7 devs
  44. Economy + Conspiracy Dead $538 8 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Euro Truck Simulator 2 2012 · $454M EA SPORTS FC™ 26 2025 · $209M Cities: Skylines 2015 · $198M Crusader Kings III 2020 · $142M Europa Universalis IV 2013 · $141M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Euro Truck Simulator 2 older $19.99 756,984 97% 23M $454M (exactly $453,963,305) SCS Software
EA SPORTS FC™ 26 $69.99 99,773 50% 3.0M $209M (exactly $209,493,368) EA Canada, EA Romania
Cities: Skylines older $29.99 220,465 92% 6.6M $198M (exactly $198,352,360) Colossal Order
Crusader Kings III older $49.99 94,615 90% 2.8M $142M (exactly $141,894,116) Paradox Development Studio
Europa Universalis IV older $49.99 94,114 87% 2.8M $141M (exactly $141,142,766) Paradox Development Studio, Paradox Tin… (Paradox Development Studio, Paradox Tinto)
Sid Meier's Civilization® V older $29.99 128,186 95% 3.8M $115M (exactly $115,328,944) Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linu… (Firaxis Games, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux))
Planet Zoo older $44.99 81,191 90% 2.4M $110M (exactly $109,583,493) Frontier Developments
Frostpunk older $29.99 114,376 92% 3.4M $103M (exactly $102,904,087) 11 bit studios
American Truck Simulator older $19.99 165,692 97% 5.0M $99M (exactly $99,365,492) SCS Software
Cities: Skylines II older $49.99 64,211 57% 1.9M $96M (exactly $96,297,237) Iceflake Studios, Colossal Order
Sid Meier's Civilization VII $69.99 44,789 48% 1.3M $94M (exactly $94,043,463) Firaxis 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
Farming Simulator 25 $29.99 39,681 87% 1.2M $36M (exactly $35,700,996) GIANTS Software
TCG Card Shop Simulator $19.99 47,357 96% 1.4M $28M (exactly $28,399,993) OPNeon Games
Farthest Frontier $34.99 24,444 86% 733k $26M (exactly $25,658,867) Crate Entertainment
Foundation $34.99 23,037 86% 691k $24M (exactly $24,181,939) Polymorph Games
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era · EA $39.99 19,251 86% 578k $23M (exactly $23,095,425) Unfrozen
Anno 117: Pax Romana $59.99 12,150 69% 365k $22M (exactly $21,866,355) Ubisoft Mainz

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