Games › Base Building › Base Building + Idler
Should I ship an Idler Base Building game?
Base Building + Idler
Of 130 developers who shipped an Idler Base Building 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.. 228 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×3.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $490k, ×782 the market median. Revenue is up 150% on the market; 228 games are announced against 87 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $15,285) |
| Top 5% | $491k (exactly $491,385) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 130 |
| Released games | 242 |
| Announced | 228 |
| 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 150% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Base Building
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Base Building, Idler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 44,468 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 8 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 228 games are announced against 87 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Base Building with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ProgrammingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
- + SailingPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + UndergroundPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
BALL x PIT 2025 · $11M 
Farm Together 2 2025 · $3.5M 
Rusty's Retirement 2024 · $2.9M 
BitCraft Online 2025 · EA · $1.6M 
Sir, We Have an Orc Problem 2026 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BALL x PIT | $14.99 | 24,714 95% | 741k | $11M (exactly $11,113,886) | Kenny Sun and Friends | |
| | Farm Together 2 | $25.99 | 4,456 93% | 134k | $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) | Milkstone Studios | |
| | Rusty's Retirement | older | $6.99 | 13,902 96% | 417k | $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) | Mister Morris Games |
| | BitCraft Online | · EA | $15.99 | 3,334 72% | 100k | $1.6M (exactly $1,599,320) | Clockwork Laboratories, Inc. |
| | Sir, We Have an Orc Problem | $9.99 | 4,123 86% | 124k | $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) | Mumpitz Games | |
 | Microcivilization | $17.99 | 1,437 78% | 43k | $776k (exactly $775,549) | Ondrej Homola | |
 | Hotel Galactic | · EA | $34.99 | 594 73% | 18k | $624k (exactly $623,522) | EndGameLoop Games |
 | Furnish Master | · EA older | $14.99 | 1,108 81% | 33k | $498k (exactly $498,268) | Alex Blintsov |
 | Hearth and Hamlet | $7.99 | 2,050 79% | 62k | $491k (exactly $491,385) | Phorust Studios | |
 | Beltmatic | older | $6.99 | 2,199 94% | 66k | $461k (exactly $461,130) | Notional Games |
 | Dwarf Eats Mountain | $9.99 | 1,114 80% | 33k | $334k (exactly $333,866) | Green Wizard | |
 | Forage Wizard | $6.99 | 1,549 87% | 46k | $325k (exactly $324,825) | Lost Maxim | |
 | Your Big, Cute Monster Farm | $7.99 | 1,097 78% | 33k | $263k (exactly $262,951) | KaiPlay Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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