Do I ship it?

Games › Action › Action + Mining

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Action game?

Action + Mining

Of 131 developers who shipped a Mining 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.. 256 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×550 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 256 games are announced against 87 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 256 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Mining
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 131
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $297 → $13k → $4.3k → $2.0k → $2.8k → $5.3k → $959 (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Mining: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 131
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $21,136)
Top 5% $346k (exactly $345,554)
Developers, 2 yr 131
Released games 305
Announced 256
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 30% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Mining
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Action, Mining; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Resource Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 11,079 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 $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 53 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 256 games are announced against 87 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

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. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

UnderMine 2020 · $5.6M SteamWorld Dig 2 2017 · $3.4M Hidden Deep 2022 · EA · $3.2M Star Valor 2022 · $2.5M Wall World 2023 · $2.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
UnderMine older $19.99 9,284 90% 279k $5.6M (exactly $5,567,615) Thorium
SteamWorld Dig 2 older $19.99 5,700 95% 171k $3.4M (exactly $3,418,290) Image & Form Games
Hidden Deep · EA older $24.99 4,293 76% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) Cogwheel Software
Star Valor older $24.99 3,272 88% 98k $2.5M (exactly $2,453,018) Rafael Burgos
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
Immortal Life older $16.99 3,853 79% 116k $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) YiFang Studio
SteamWorld Dig older $9.99 6,509 94% 195k $2.0M (exactly $1,950,747) Image & Form Games
Interstellar Rift older $19.99 1,411 66% 42k $846k (exactly $846,177) Split Polygon
Return from Core $16.99 1,620 75% 49k $826k (exactly $825,714) 顽核社 FuncoreClub
My Little Universe older $14.99 1,500 89% 45k $675k (exactly $674,550) Estoty
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
UnderMine 2 · EA $19.99 828 75% 25k $497k (exactly $496,552) Thorium
Alaska Gold Fever $16.99 959 79% 29k $489k (exactly $488,802) Baked Games
Astronomics · EA $19.99 706 89% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) Numizmatic
Rock Bottom $7.99 1,747 94% 52k $419k (exactly $418,756) Logan Games
Gemporium: A Cute Mining Sim $9.99 1,153 93% 35k $346k (exactly $345,554) Merge Conflict Studio
IDUN - Frontline Survival $14.99 685 77% 21k $308k (exactly $308,044) IDUN Interactive
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival $9.99 826 77% 25k $248k (exactly $247,552) RetroStyle Games
Stonewards · EA $9.99 806 94% 24k $242k (exactly $241,558) Banana Tiger Studio

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