Do I ship it?

Games › Idler › Idler + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Idler?

Idler + Artificial Intelligence

Of 85 developers who shipped an AI Idler 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.. 84 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $290. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 84 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 84 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Idler + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 85
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $4.3k → $1.6k → $27k → $5.4k → $1.8k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Idler + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 85
Bottom 30% $282 (exactly $282)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,329)
Top 5% $114k (exactly $113,922)
Developers, 2 yr 85
Released games 210
Announced 84
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $2.99

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 90% on the market, supply 260% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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
Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Simulation, Strategy
Price point
$2.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 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 $2.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 17,041 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $290, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $290. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Idler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds10 devs · median $36k · 10 announced
  2. + FarmingStrong odds33 devs · median $5.9k · 25 announced
  3. + Hack and SlashFair32 devs · median $6.4k · 50 announced
  4. + DrivingFair16 devs · median $5.5k · 18 announced
  5. + LootFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  6. + FPSFair22 devs · median $4.2k · 23 announced
  7. + Turn-Based CombatFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  8. + Turn-Based StrategyFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair16 devs · median $3.0k · 17 announced
  10. + Dark FantasyFair83 devs · median $2.9k · 128 announced
  11. + CapitalismFair205 devs · median $2.9k · 260 announced
  12. + SwordplayFair9 devs · median $2.7k · 4 announced

All 177 pairs on the Idler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

WorldBox - God Simulator 2021 · EA · $31M The Farmer Was Replaced 2025 · $2.7M Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator 2023 · EA · $1.9M Nodebuster 2024 · $1.2M Fantasy Map Simulator 2024 · EA · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
WorldBox - God Simulator · EA older $19.99 51,071 95% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,627,279) Maxim Karpenko
The Farmer Was Replaced $9.99 9,116 95% 273k $2.7M (exactly $2,732,065) Timon Herzog
Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator · EA older $6.99 8,904 96% 267k $1.9M (exactly $1,867,169) JoySpark Games
Nodebuster older $2.99 13,852 97% 416k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,524) Goblobin
Fantasy Map Simulator · EA older $7.99 4,190 89% 126k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) The Stranger
Beer Factory older $18.99 1,410 40% 42k $803k (exactly $803,277) MyceliumGames
Fish Game older $24.99 589 93% 18k $442k (exactly $441,573) A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink… (A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink Games)
Click and Conquer $4.99 2,442 92% 73k $366k (exactly $365,567) SOCKHOUSE STUDIOS
FACEMINER $7.99 1,517 90% 46k $364k (exactly $363,625) Wristwork
Timber Rush $4.99 1,490 84% 45k $223k (exactly $223,053) Allerton Apps
Widget Inc. $4.99 761 84% 23k $114k (exactly $113,922) Leaping Turtle
FEED THE AI $5.99 557 90% 17k $100k (exactly $100,093) Weird Kid Games
Crownhold $6.99 471 84% 14k $99k (exactly $98,769) Tobias Mikula
Rocky Idle $9.99 308 83% 9.2k $92k (exactly $92,308) Rocky Games Studio
ANLIFE: Motion-Learning Life Evolution $13.99 161 83% 4.8k $68k (exactly $67,572) Attructure Inc.
The Bibites: Digital Life · EA $9.99 218 96% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) Omnia Studios

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