Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Management game?

Management

Of 3,108 developers who shipped a 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.. 5,785 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $720k, ×1158 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 5,785 games are announced against 2,092 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 5,785 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 3,108
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $10k → $7.0k → $5.9k → $5.1k → $5.5k → $3.9k → $3.6k (still earning) → $1.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 3,108
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Top 25% $31k (exactly $31,176)
Top 5% $727k (exactly $727,030)
Developers, 2 yr 3,108
Released games 7,467
Announced 5,785
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 flat on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Management
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
Management
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 90% positive over 609,236 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 $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $31k, 1 in 20 over $720k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 1,349 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 5,785 games are announced against 2,092 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Management

65 pairs with a settingwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Management + Steampunk Poor odds $1.9k 17 devs
  2. Management + Space Poor odds $1.8k 206 devs
  3. Management + Mystery Poor odds $1.8k 71 devs
  4. Management + Sci-fi Poor odds $1.7k 301 devs
  5. Management + Cyberpunk Poor odds $1.7k 42 devs
  6. Management + Futuristic Poor odds $1.7k 159 devs
  7. Management + Aliens Poor odds $1.7k 53 devs
  8. Management + Cold War Poor odds $1.3k 14 devs
  9. Management + Dystopian Poor odds $1.1k 71 devs
  10. Management + Robots Poor odds $1.1k 40 devs
  11. Management + Detective Poor odds $898 21 devs
  12. Management + Noir Poor odds $359 18 devs
  13. Management + Mechs Poor odds $300 16 devs
  14. Management + Villain Protagonist Dead $28k 8 devs
  15. Management + Mars Dead $22k 12 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sid Meier’s Civilization® VI 2016 · $497M Euro Truck Simulator 2 2012 · $454M RimWorld 2018 · $219M Stellaris 2016 · $210M Factorio 2020 · $201M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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))
Euro Truck Simulator 2 older $19.99 756,984 97% 23M $454M (exactly $453,963,305) SCS Software
RimWorld older $34.99 208,693 97% 6.3M $219M (exactly $219,065,042) Ludeon Studios
Stellaris older $49.99 139,718 85% 4.2M $210M (exactly $209,535,085) Paradox Development Studio
Factorio older $35.00 191,814 97% 5.8M $201M (exactly $201,404,700) Wube Software LTD.
Cities: Skylines older $29.99 220,465 92% 6.6M $198M (exactly $198,352,360) Colossal Order
Schedule I · EA $19.99 288,939 97% 8.7M $173M (exactly $173,276,718) TVGS
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)
鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal older $19.99 190,184 56% 5.7M $114M (exactly $114,053,345) 鬼谷工作室
NBA 2K26 $69.99 25,651 66% 770k $54M (exactly $53,859,405) Visual Concepts
Supermarket Simulator $19.99 79,236 92% 2.4M $48M (exactly $47,517,829) Nokta Games
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
Football Manager 26 $59.99 21,490 37% 645k $39M (exactly $38,675,553) Sports Interactive
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
Frostpunk 2 $44.99 20,872 74% 626k $28M (exactly $28,170,938) 11 bit studios
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

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