Games › Mining › Mining + Aliens
Should I ship an Alien Mining game?
Mining + Aliens
Only 13 developers shipped an Alien Mining game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Starminer, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 37 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×3443 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 37 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,726) |
| Top 25% | $22k (exactly $22,178) |
| Top 5% | $1.6M (exactly $1,635,655) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 40 |
| Announced | 37 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 450% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Mining
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 5,586 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 37 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Mining with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + TradingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + EconomyFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + NatureFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
Hidden Deep 2022 · EA · $3.2M 
Wall World 2023 · $2.4M 
Starminer 2026 · EA · $1.6M 
Interstellar Rift 2020 · $846k 
The Spotter: Dig or Die 2026 · $698k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hidden Deep | · EA older | $24.99 | 4,293 76% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) | Cogwheel Software |
| | Wall World | older | $6.99 | 11,353 90% | 341k | $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) | Alawar |
| | Starminer | · EA | $29.99 | 1,818 72% | 55k | $1.6M (exactly $1,635,655) | CoolAndGoodGames |
| | Interstellar Rift | older | $19.99 | 1,411 66% | 42k | $846k (exactly $846,177) | Split Polygon |
| | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
 | Wall World 2 | $11.99 | 1,749 73% | 52k | $629k (exactly $629,115) | Alawar | |
 | DIG Raiders: Anomaly Extraction | $9.99 | 74 86% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $22,178) | Soda Game Studio | |
 | Sporbs | $4.99 | 92 78% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $13,772) | Who Nose Studios | |
 | VOID CRAWLER | older | $3.99 | 82 87% | 2.5k | $9.8k (exactly $9,815) | Ricardo Pratas |
 | Fairspace | older | $8.99 | 28 64% | 840 | $7.6k (exactly $7,552) | Sub Orbital Software |
 | IDLE: Intergalactic Defense League Exterminators | $5.99 | 34 64% | 1.0k | $6.1k (exactly $6,110) | PolyB Games | |
 | Rescue Team: Lights. Camera. Outer Space | $6.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $2.7k (exactly $2,726) | Game Mixer | |
 | Neon Colony | $12.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $1.9k (exactly $1,948) | ABCA Studios | |
 | Space Trader Corps | $9.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) | D Squires | |
 | Mega Roids | $3.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $479 (exactly $479) | PSD Labs LLC |
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.