Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Idler?

Building + Idler

Of 232 developers who shipped a Building 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.. 333 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 $2.9k, ×4.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×517 the market median. Revenue is up 150% on the market; 333 games are announced against 157 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 150% on the market, 333 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 232
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.6k → $12k → $4.6k → $1.7k → $3.4k → $4.1k → $2.4k (still earning) → $2.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 232
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $2.9k (exactly $2,873)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $20,143)
Top 5% $325k (exactly $324,825)
Developers, 2 yr 232
Released games 406
Announced 333
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 105% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Incremental
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 60,870 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $2.9k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $320k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 7 in 10 of the 85 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 333 games are announced against 157 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

WorldBox - God Simulator 2021 · EA · $31M Cookie Clicker 2021 · $13M BALL x PIT 2025 · $11M Rusty's Retirement 2024 · $2.9M (the) Gnorp Apologue 2023 · $2.0M
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
Cookie Clicker older $4.99 87,916 96% 2.6M $13M (exactly $13,161,025) Orteil, DashNet
BALL x PIT $14.99 24,714 95% 741k $11M (exactly $11,113,886) Kenny Sun and Friends
Rusty's Retirement older $6.99 13,902 96% 417k $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) Mister Morris Games
(the) Gnorp Apologue older $6.99 9,613 94% 288k $2.0M (exactly $2,015,846) Myco
Fly Corp older $14.99 3,112 85% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,399,466) KishMish Games
Farm Manager 2021 older $19.99 2,296 79% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,376,911) Cleversan Games
Tiny Pasture $5.99 7,055 92% 212k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) CaveLiquid
Tower Wizard $2.99 8,787 96% 264k $788k (exactly $788,194) Barribob
Microcivilization $17.99 1,437 78% 43k $776k (exactly $775,549) Ondrej Homola
Digseum $2.99 8,033 97% 241k $721k (exactly $720,560) Rat Monthly
Hotel Galactic · EA $34.99 594 73% 18k $624k (exactly $623,522) EndGameLoop Games
Crusaders Quest : Hero Town $6.99 2,564 76% 77k $538k (exactly $537,671) CQ LABS
Hearth and Hamlet $7.99 2,050 79% 62k $491k (exactly $491,385) Phorust Studios
Ropuka's Idle Island $3.99 4,048 95% 121k $485k (exactly $484,546) Moczan, Little Chmura, Begoña Pereda
Birdwatching Notebook $9.99 1,588 97% 48k $476k (exactly $475,924) Biekka Games

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