Games › Economy › Economy + Aliens
Should I ship an Alien Economy game?
Economy + Aliens
Of 29 developers who shipped an Alien Economy 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $690k, ×1112 the market median. Revenue is up 230% on the market; 56 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,772) |
| Top 5% | $698k (exactly $698,342) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 55 |
| Announced | 56 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 230% on the market, supply 215% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Exploration
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 4,720 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Age of Wonders: Planetfall 2019 · $4.3M 
Starminer 2026 · EA · $1.6M 
The Spotter: Dig or Die 2026 · $698k 
Spacebase Startopia 2021 · $450k 
Sex Shop Simulator: X-RAY DESIRE 2025 · $94k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Age of Wonders: Planetfall | older | $29.99 | 4,758 80% | 143k | $4.3M (exactly $4,280,773) | Triumph Studios |
| | Starminer | · EA | $29.99 | 1,818 72% | 55k | $1.6M (exactly $1,635,655) | CoolAndGoodGames |
| | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
| | Spacebase Startopia | older | $39.99 | 375 57% | 11k | $450k (exactly $449,888) | Realmforge Studios |
| | Sex Shop Simulator: X-RAY DESIRE | $6.99 | 448 68% | 13k | $94k (exactly $93,946) | Doorway Games | |
 | Space for Sale | $19.99 | 140 50% | 4.2k | $84k (exactly $83,958) | Mirage Game Studios | |
 | Alien Market Simulator | $12.99 | 124 83% | 3.7k | $48k (exactly $48,323) | Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainme… (Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainment) | |
 | We Need More Humans! | $6.99 | 142 72% | 4.3k | $30k (exactly $29,777) | Seafront Games | |
 | DIG Raiders: Anomaly Extraction | $9.99 | 74 86% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $22,178) | Soda Game Studio | |
 | Project Astra Dominium | older | $9.99 | 69 88% | 2.1k | $21k (exactly $20,679) | Snob Entertainment UG |
 | Sporbs | $4.99 | 92 78% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $13,772) | Who Nose Studios | |
 | The Diner at the End of the Galaxy | · EA | $9.99 | 32 59% | 960 | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) | General Interactive Co. |
 | Terraforming Titans | $5.00 | 58 94% | 1.7k | $8.7k (exactly $8,700) | terraforming.titans |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.