Do I ship it?

GamesArcadeArcade + Minigames

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Minigames Arcade game?

Arcade + Minigames

Of 57 developers who shipped a Minigames Arcade 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.. 65 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 65 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 65% on the market, 65 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Minigames
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $475 → $2.4k → $719 → $1.4k → $1.3k → $1.8k (still earning) → $2.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Minigames: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,336)
Top 25% $8.3k (exactly $8,266)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,334,066)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 177
Announced 65
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 65% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Minigames
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Arcade, Minigames; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Multiplayer
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 15,536 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $8.2k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 65 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
UFO 50 $24.99 7,134 94% 214k $5.3M (exactly $5,348,360) Mossmouth
Rift of the NecroDancer $19.99 5,844 93% 175k $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647) Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios I… (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios Inc.)
GigaBash older $24.99 1,951 94% 59k $1.5M (exactly $1,462,665) Passion Republic Games
Trials Evolution: Gold Edition older $19.99 2,253 74% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,351,124) Redlynx Ltd, Ubisoft Shanghaï
LEGO® Party! $39.99 1,112 87% 33k $1.3M (exactly $1,334,066) SMG Studio
FlatOut older $7.49 5,870 91% 176k $1.3M (exactly $1,318,989) Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Me… (Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Media, Jordan Freeman Group)
Rayman Raving Rabbids™ older $9.99 1,930 84% 58k $578k (exactly $578,421) Ubisoft Bulgaria, Ubisoft Montpellier
pureya older $5.99 2,242 96% 67k $403k (exactly $402,887) Majorariatto
Coin Pusher Casino older $12.50 950 84% 29k $356k (exactly $356,250) TreeNutsGames
My Singing Monsters Playground older $39.99 263 82% 7.9k $316k (exactly $315,521) Big Blue Bubble
Starlight Revolver · EA $12.99 404 54% 12k $157k (exactly $157,439) Pahdo Labs
Happy Endings $6.99 429 86% 13k $90k (exactly $89,961) Late Night Studios
Mythmatch $19.99 124 98% 3.7k $74k (exactly $74,363) Team Artichoke
Judofuri $14.99 80 100% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,976) pataya
Pibcremental $5.99 177 89% 5.3k $32k (exactly $31,807) Arcane Cabinet
Claire a la Mode $14.99 49 93% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Colorgrave
Girls, I just want to get paid! $3.99 183 82% 5.5k $22k (exactly $21,905) LuminatiGames

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