Do I ship it?

Games › Adventure › Adventure + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Adventure game?

Adventure + Idler

Of 289 developers who shipped an Idler Adventure 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.. 369 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×386 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 369 games are announced against 181 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 369 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 289
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $1.4k → $2.0k → $2.8k → $2.5k → $2.5k → $2.2k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 289
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,937)
Top 5% $183k (exactly $183,380)
Developers, 2 yr 289
Released games 797
Announced 369
Effort 4 / 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 60% 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.

Adventure
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Adventure, Idler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Incremental, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 49,403 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 148 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 369 games are announced against 181 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SamuraiFair13 devs · median $261k · 14 announced
  2. + FMVFair144 devs · median $39k · 151 announced
  3. + PinballFair11 devs · median $8.1k · 17 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair40 devs · median $6.3k · 50 announced
  5. + Escape RoomFair165 devs · median $2.2k · 151 announced
  6. + Mini GolfFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 11 announced
  7. + SportsFair228 devs · median $1.5k · 224 announced
  8. + GolfFair18 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair384 devs · median $1.2k · 420 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair33 devs · median $599 · 33 announced
  11. + Traditional RoguelikeFair89 devs · median $449 · 119 announced
  12. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds10 devs · median $561k · 7 announced

All 279 pairs on the Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Chill with You : Lo-Fi Story 2025 · $4.4M Melvor Idle 2021 · $4.4M THE LONGING 2020 · $3.1M Shelldiver 2025 · $2.5M Dragon Cliff 2018 · $2.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chill with You : Lo-Fi Story $11.99 12,215 98% 366k $4.4M (exactly $4,393,736) Nestopi Inc.
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
THE LONGING older $14.99 6,977 92% 209k $3.1M (exactly $3,137,557) Studio Seufz
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
Dragon Cliff older $9.99 7,679 88% 230k $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) Meta Interaction
Berry Bury Berry $7.99 8,619 98% 259k $2.1M (exactly $2,065,974) Get(Color) Games
To The Core older $7.99 5,087 92% 153k $1.2M (exactly $1,219,354) SomethingExtra
再刷一把 PlayAgain older $8.99 4,416 67% 132k $1.2M (exactly $1,190,995) 滑稽工作室
Multiverse Loot Hunter $11.99 2,585 80% 78k $930k (exactly $929,824) 游戏养家工作室
Swag and Sorcery older $12.99 2,318 54% 70k $903k (exactly $903,325) Lazy Bear Games, Uroboros Games
Cauldron $14.99 1,678 92% 50k $755k (exactly $754,597) SleepyDad Games
xiuzhen idle $5.99 2,313 79% 69k $416k (exactly $415,646) 游戏养家工作室
Loot of Baal $8.99 1,372 62% 41k $370k (exactly $370,028) Gleamer Studio
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill
Legends of Dragaea: Idle Dungeons $9.99 976 86% 29k $293k (exactly $292,507) Blast Programming
Zero Stress King: Idle Defense $4.99 1,679 87% 50k $251k (exactly $251,346) Pauloondra

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