Do I ship it?

Games › Action › Action + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Action game?

Action + Idler

Of 225 developers who shipped an Idler Action 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.. 292 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $240. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 292 games are announced against 150 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 292 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 225
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $446 → $2.0k → $1.4k → $1.2k → $3.3k → $598 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 225
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $4.7k (exactly $4,672)
Top 5% $153k (exactly $152,929)
Developers, 2 yr 225
Released games 536
Announced 292
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 35% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Strategy, Simulation
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 59,297 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $900, 1 in 4 over $4.6k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 91 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 292 games are announced against 150 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  9. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  10. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  11. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced
  12. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds108 devs · median $71k · 261 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BALL x PIT 2025 · $11M Swords & Souls: Neverseen 2019 · $2.7M Shelldiver 2025 · $2.5M Bills Must Be Paid 2026 · $2.1M Wretch: Divine Ascent 2025 · $438k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BALL x PIT $14.99 24,714 95% 741k $11M (exactly $11,113,886) Kenny Sun and Friends
Swords & Souls: Neverseen older $14.99 6,077 93% 182k $2.7M (exactly $2,732,827) SoulGame Studio
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
Chef Knight $5.99 2,433 94% 73k $437k (exactly $437,210) Clover Bite
Galactic Mining Corp older $12.99 868 84% 26k $338k (exactly $338,260) Windybeard
Dark Hunting Ground $12.99 771 92% 23k $300k (exactly $300,459) BingX
Haydee 3 $29.99 321 84% 9.6k $289k (exactly $288,804) Haydee Interactive
NeverSynth older $12.99 715 75% 21k $279k (exactly $278,636) Whale Rock Games
Flash Doll $8.99 859 80% 26k $232k (exactly $231,672) Game Star
Timber Rush $4.99 1,490 84% 45k $223k (exactly $223,053) Allerton Apps
Another Try 2 · EA $6.99 1,000 53% 30k $210k (exactly $209,700) Hoki Wolf Studio

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