Do I ship it?

Games › Management › Management + Arcade

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Arcade Management game?

Management + Arcade

Of 342 developers who shipped an Arcade Management 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.. 512 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×491 the market median. Revenue is up 210% on the market; 512 games are announced against 241 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 210% on the market, 512 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Arcade
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 342
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $2.5k → $1.2k → $1.8k → $899 → $6.7k → $2.5k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Arcade: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 342
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $17,365)
Top 5% $308k (exactly $308,259)
Developers, 2 yr 342
Released games 641
Announced 512
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 210% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management, Arcade; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Incremental, Economy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 69,465 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 $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $300k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 139 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 512 games are announced against 241 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions 2020 · $9.1M Internet Cafe Simulator 2 2022 · $7.4M Punch Club 2016 · $3.6M Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M Shelldiver 2025 · $2.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions older $59.99 5,072 73% 152k $9.1M (exactly $9,128,078) TAMSOFT CORPORATION
Internet Cafe Simulator 2 older $19.99 12,299 74% 369k $7.4M (exactly $7,375,710) Cheesecake Dev
Punch Club older $9.99 12,098 81% 363k $3.6M (exactly $3,625,771) Lazy Bear Games
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
Super Mega Baseball 3 older $44.99 1,832 92% 55k $2.5M (exactly $2,472,650) Metalhead Software Inc.
Punch Club 2: Fast Forward older $19.99 3,808 81% 114k $2.3M (exactly $2,283,658) Lazy Bear Games
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
Tape to Tape · EA older $19.99 3,464 92% 104k $2.1M (exactly $2,077,361) Excellent Rectangle
Seafarer: The Ship Sim · EA $34.99 1,921 64% 58k $2.0M (exactly $2,016,474) astragon Development
Global Rescue · EA $24.99 1,864 86% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,397,441) PeDePe GbR
Keep on Mining! $4.99 8,300 93% 249k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510) EagleEye Games
iRacing Arcade $24.99 1,199 72% 36k $899k (exactly $898,890) Original Fire Games, iRacing
Tower Wizard $2.99 8,787 96% 264k $788k (exactly $788,194) Barribob
The Chef's Shift $12.99 1,948 97% 58k $759k (exactly $759,136) Panitia GameDev
A Game About Feeding A Black Hole $6.99 3,467 88% 104k $727k (exactly $727,030) Aarimous, Thornity

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