Do I ship it?

GamesGamblingGambling + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Gambling game?

Gambling + Capitalism

Of 50 developers who shipped a Capitalist Gambling 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.. 82 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $330; 1 in 20 cleared $870k, ×1837 the market median. Revenue is up 145% on the market; 82 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 145% on the market, 82 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Gambling + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 50
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $1.5k → $359 → $2.6k (still earning) → $2.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Gambling + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 50
Bottom 30% $330 (exactly $330)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,888)
Top 25% $31k (exactly $31,479)
Top 5% $872k (exactly $872,427)
Developers, 2 yr 50
Released games 78
Announced 82
Effort 4 / 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 145% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Gambling
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Capitalism
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Gambling; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Resource Management, Economy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, Relaxing, 2D
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 92% positive over 39,246 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $330, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $31k, 1 in 20 over $870k.

3 in 10 developers made under $330. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 82 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomanceStrong odds11 devs · median $5.7k · 9 announced
  2. + Dungeon CrawlerFair16 devs · median $7.0k · 17 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair16 devs · median $5.7k · 12 announced
  4. + Online Co-OpFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Co-opFair22 devs · median $4.4k · 32 announced
  6. + FPSFair24 devs · median $4.1k · 22 announced
  7. + Life SimFair28 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  8. + SandboxFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Female ProtagonistFair20 devs · median $2.4k · 10 announced
  10. + Multiple EndingsFair30 devs · median $1.8k · 42 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair96 devs · median $1.3k · 129 announced
  12. + MysteryFair23 devs · median $1.2k · 26 announced

All 71 pairs on the Gambling page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers older $14.99 2,988 81% 90k $1.3M (exactly $1,343,704) Purple Moss Collectors
STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator · EA older $9.99 3,124 95% 94k $936k (exactly $936,263) TERNOX
Horsey Game $9.99 2,911 97% 87k $872k (exactly $872,427) Captain Games
Gamblers Table $6.99 2,955 74% 89k $620k (exactly $619,664) greenpixels, Bossforge
Click the Button $3.99 3,849 93% 115k $461k (exactly $460,725) LoopCap
Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator $19.99 513 91% 15k $308k (exactly $307,646) Strange Scaffold
Insider Trading $12.89 600 79% 18k $232k (exactly $232,020) Naiive
Unfair Flips $1.99 2,523 88% 76k $151k (exactly $150,623) HEATHER FLOWERS
Slots & Diapers $6.99 539 88% 16k $113k (exactly $113,028) Parodie Games
Scratch the Ticket $9.99 183 44% 5.5k $55k (exactly $54,845) Shilenok

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