Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Resource Management game?

Resource Management

Of 2,906 developers who shipped a 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.. 5,734 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $540k, ×1155 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 5,734 games are announced against 2,026 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 5,734 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 2,906
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.0k → $5.3k → $4.5k → $2.6k → $3.8k → $2.4k → $3.0k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 2,906
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $22,228)
Top 5% $549k (exactly $548,634)
Developers, 2 yr 2,906
Released games 6,192
Announced 5,734
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 110% 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.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management
Price point
$6.99 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 $6.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 279,377 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $540k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 1,105 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 5,734 games are announced against 2,026 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Resource Management

215 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Resource Management + Artificial Intelligence Fair $11k 102 devs
  2. Resource Management + Dwarves Fair $11k 15 devs
  3. Resource Management + Western Fair $7.0k 19 devs
  4. Resource Management + Snow Fair $3.8k 24 devs
  5. JRPG + Resource Management Fair $2.7k 36 devs
  6. Resource Management + Underwater Fair $2.3k 51 devs
  7. Collectathon + Resource Management Fair $1.9k 167 devs
  8. Resource Management + Incremental Fair $1.8k 630 devs
  9. Resource Management + Idler Fair $1.6k 656 devs
  10. Resource Management + Arcade Fair $1.5k 322 devs
  11. Resource Management + Horses Fair $1.2k 11 devs
  12. Quick-Time Events + Resource Management Fair $719 46 devs
  13. Resource Management + Time Travel Fair $600 16 devs
  14. Resource Management + Shoot 'Em Up Fair $599 26 devs
  15. Resource Management + Bullet Hell Fair $537 57 devs
  16. Resource Management + Typing Fair $494 16 devs
  17. 2D Fighter + Resource Management Long shot $390 13 devs
  18. Resource Management + Mars Poor odds $353k 12 devs
  19. Resource Management + Rome Poor odds $160k 12 devs
  20. Real-Time with Pause + Resource Management Poor odds $38k 29 devs
  21. Resource Management + Faith Poor odds $37k 15 devs
  22. Open World Survival Craft + Resource Management Poor odds $36k 41 devs
  23. Resource Management + Roguelike Deckbuilder Poor odds $27k 44 devs
  24. Resource Management + LGBTQ+ Poor odds $16k 13 devs
  25. 4X + Resource Management Poor odds $14k 65 devs
  26. Co-op + Resource Management Poor odds $14k 147 devs
  27. Colony Sim + Resource Management Poor odds $13k 270 devs
  28. Party-Based RPG + Resource Management Poor odds $13k 37 devs
  29. Online Co-Op + Resource Management Poor odds $13k 149 devs
  30. Diplomacy + Resource Management Poor odds $13k 43 devs
  31. CRPG + Resource Management Poor odds $12k 18 devs
  32. Automobile Sim + Resource Management Poor odds $11k 34 devs
  33. Gun Customization + Resource Management Poor odds $11k 28 devs
  34. Resource Management + Trains Poor odds $11k 39 devs
  35. Outbreak Sim + Resource Management Poor odds $10k 24 devs
  36. Resource Management + Cooking Poor odds $9.6k 136 devs
  37. Immersive Sim + Resource Management Poor odds $8.6k 417 devs
  38. Sailing + Resource Management Poor odds $8.5k 18 devs
  39. Sandbox + Resource Management Poor odds $8.4k 632 devs
  40. Driving + Resource Management Poor odds $8.4k 52 devs
  41. Asynchronous Multiplayer + Resource Management Poor odds $8.1k 21 devs
  42. City Builder + Resource Management Poor odds $8.1k 408 devs
  43. Job Simulator + Resource Management Poor odds $8.1k 121 devs
  44. Building + Resource Management Poor odds $7.9k 810 devs
  45. Open World + Resource Management Poor odds $7.9k 255 devs
  46. Base Building + Resource Management Poor odds $7.7k 642 devs
  47. Turn-Based + Resource Management Poor odds $7.5k 31 devs
  48. Resource Management + Historical Poor odds $7.2k 158 devs
  49. Hack and Slash + Resource Management Poor odds $6.6k 30 devs
  50. RTS + Resource Management Poor odds $6.5k 223 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Satisfactory 2024 · $282M Resident Evil 4 2023 · $224M Factorio 2020 · $201M Cities: Skylines 2015 · $198M Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition 2019 · $167M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Satisfactory older $39.99 234,993 97% 7.0M $282M (exactly $281,921,102) Coffee Stain Studios
Resident Evil 4 older $39.99 186,701 97% 5.6M $224M (exactly $223,985,190) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
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
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition older $34.99 158,931 94% 4.8M $167M (exactly $166,829,871) World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Captur… (World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, CaptureAge, Tantalus Media, Wicked Witch, Feral Interactive)
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
Oxygen Not Included older $24.99 135,337 96% 4.1M $101M (exactly $101,462,149) Klei Entertainment
Cities: Skylines II older $49.99 64,211 57% 1.9M $96M (exactly $96,297,237) Iceflake Studios, Colossal Order
Manor Lords · EA older $39.99 76,884 84% 2.3M $92M (exactly $92,237,735) Slavic Magic
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
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
Broken Arrow $49.99 25,924 55% 778k $39M (exactly $38,878,223) Steel Balalaika
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
Anno 117: Pax Romana $59.99 12,150 69% 365k $22M (exactly $21,866,355) Ubisoft Mainz
Jurassic World Evolution 3 $59.99 11,387 93% 342k $20M (exactly $20,493,184) Frontier Developments
Soulmask $29.99 18,445 76% 553k $17M (exactly $16,594,966) CampFire Studio

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