Genre
City-builder x Survival x Automation x Physics
Net Return Target
×3.0
Net Return Target in the balanced scenario. Use the simulator to explore the others.
Horizon
3 years
Estimated horizon until end of revenue sharing.
Key metrics
32k
Steam Wishlists
90%
Discord Members
61%
Projected Revenue
The Pitch
Marbles Tree is a survival city-builder in which every resource physically travels as a marble. You grow a colony of squirrels, build your transport networks and get your community ready for the seasons ahead.
Now in late production, the project is led by Irregular Shapes, the studio behind City Tales, which has sold over 32,000 units with more than 90% positive reviews.
Marbles Tree sits in a nearly untapped niche, combining city-building with physics systems, with an instantly recognisable mechanic that is particularly well suited to video content with strong viral potential.
Market & Traction
Market Size
City-builder, automation and survival are among the most resilient, high-retention PC/Steam genres: the segment's revenue is growing +42% per year, and the physics-logistics niche keeps producing breakout hits.
24M
Cumulative lifetime units across 10 comparable titles (official announcements + VG Insights / Gamalytic estimates)
×3.7
Growth in Steam players 2015→2025 - colony-sim, city-builder and automation are structurally growing categories with unusually long sales tails
1M+
Units sold by The Planet Crafter on a streamer-led path - proof that highly watchable mechanics drive discovery in this genre
Proven traction & clear path to market
32,000+
Unique buyers of the studio's previous title City Tales (Steam, since May 2025)
$470K
Gross Steam revenue generated by City Tales between May 2025 and June 2026
90%
Positive Steam reviews for City Tales, which had accumulated 120K wishlists before release
7h35
Average playtime per user on City Tales
3 / 270
Only 3 games out of 270 sit at the crossover of city-builder and physics - a near-empty niche in a structurally growing genre
20
Active playtesters already running a near-feature-complete build
Marbles Tree reuses the City Tales pipeline and is already near feature-complete, with 15h+ of playtime: most of the core product risk is retired before the campaign. The Steam page is revealed in late 2026, which makes wishlists the KPI to watch.
Market Comparatives
Potential return if Marbles Tree were to sell the same number of units as each of these comparable games, in the balanced scenario.
Comparable games
~ Units sold (lifetime)
Potential Return
Factorio
6,000,000
×29
Oxygen Not Included
5,000,000
×25
Satisfactory
5,000,000
×25
Frostpunk
3,000,000
×15
Timberborn
2,000,000
×10
Against the Storm
1,000,000
×5.7
The Planet Crafter
1,000,000
×5.7
The Wandering Village
550,000
×3.6
shapez 2
500,000
×3.4
Terra Nil
500,000
×3.4
Marbles Tree (Hypotheses)
434,000
×3.0
The Team
Rémi Malet
CEO / Producer
Pierre Berard
Lead Gameplay Developer
Laure Volkaert
Art Director, 3D & Tech Art
Clémence Bordat
3D Art
Aurélie Warszawski
2D Art
Benoît Vanhoffelen
Music & SFX
Marbles Tree rests on a rare pairing: Rémi Malet, a CEO trained at École Polytechnique, France's leading engineering school, leading a creative core that has worked together since 2022. A solid business profile backed by a team that knows how to finish and ship.
Already shipped a PC city-builder (City Tales) on Steam: proven ability to build, launch and monetise in this exact genre
Dedicated in-house team across code, 3D art, design, UX/UI and original music & SFX
Reusing a proven art pipeline and tech from City Tales, de-risking production and cost
Near feature-complete build with 15h+ of playtime, ahead of most crowdfunding-stage projects
Strong art direction and a signature, highly watchable mechanic built for organic reach
Strategy & Roadmap
Dec 2026
Steam Page & Reveal
Public reveal at a major digital showcase and Steam page live.
Feb 2027
Steam Demo
Playable demo during Steam Next Fest, backed by press and content-creator outreach.
Apr 2027
1.0 Full Release
Full launch on PC / Steam.
2027–2028
Post-launch
Around 10 months of content updates, plus paid DLCs.
Go-to-Market Strategy
Positioning:
Genre: Systemic survival city-builder × automation, with physics-driven logistics.
Unique Value Proposition: A tangible, physical marble economy you can watch rolling: readable, satisfying, highly shareable.
Ambition: A flagship IP for Irregular Shapes, PC/Steam first, with post-launch content and platform-expansion potential.
Audience:
Target Player Profile: PC/Steam players of city-builders, colony sims and automation games (Timberborn, Against the Storm, Factorio, The Wandering Village) - systems-driven players who enjoy optimisation, creativity and "one more idea" logistics.
Crossover: A cozy / wholesome audience reached through the squirrels-and-tree fantasy.
Market Size and Trend: A resilient, high-retention niche with long sales tails.
Target Regions: PC-first, English-language; priority on US, Germany, France and UK (mirroring genre and City Tales sales distribution), plus a dedicated partnership for China.
Marketing plan:
Pre-launch: Steam page and reveal at a major digital showcase; wishlist-driving devlogs and art clips; content-creator and press outreach through Not A Shark Company; Steam Demo during a Steam Next Fest.
Launch: Streamer and influencer push leveraging the marble economy's watchability; festival timing; launch-day discount; day-one patch cadence.
Post-launch: Content updates timed to Steam sales and fests; bundles with overlapping genre titles; community events.
Commercial and distribution plan:
Public Game Price at Launch: $29.99 (to confirm), in line with genre comparables ($24.99–$33.99).
Platforms: PC - Steam first (single-player); additional stores and platforms considered post-1.0.
Release Strategy: Direct 1.0 launch, followed by post-launch updates and paid DLCs.
More info on the game
Video
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