Games › Idler › Idler + Capitalism
Should I ship a Capitalist Idler?
Idler + Capitalism
Of 205 developers who shipped a Capitalist 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.. 260 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×6.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $630. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 260 games are announced against 155 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $629 (exactly $629) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.9k (exactly $2,875) |
| Top 25% | $20k (exactly $19,947) |
| Top 5% | $262k (exactly $261,502) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 205 |
| Released games | 349 |
| Announced | 260 |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 180% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
- Capitalism
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Idler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Simulation, Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 61,515 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $630. 6 in 10 of the 71 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 260 games are announced against 155 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Idler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashFair
- + DrivingFair
- + LootFair
- + FPSFair
- + Turn-Based CombatFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + ModernFair
Comparable games
Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M 
Bills Must Be Paid 2026 · $2.1M 
Chillquarium 2023 · $1.4M 
Tiny Pasture 2025 · $1.3M 
Keep on Mining! 2025 · $1.2M | 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 | |
| | Chillquarium | older | $5.99 | 7,780 92% | 233k | $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) | Ben Reber |
| | Tiny Pasture | $5.99 | 7,055 92% | 212k | $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) | CaveLiquid | |
| | Keep on Mining! | $4.99 | 8,300 93% | 249k | $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510) | EagleEye Games | |
 | Digseum | $2.99 | 8,033 97% | 241k | $721k (exactly $720,560) | Rat Monthly | |
 | 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 | |
 | Chef Knight | $5.99 | 2,433 94% | 73k | $437k (exactly $437,210) | Clover Bite | |
 | Keep on Mining! - Worlds | $6.99 | 1,899 80% | 57k | $398k (exactly $398,220) | EagleEye Games | |
 | Outhold | $6.99 | 1,818 86% | 55k | $381k (exactly $381,235) | Tellus Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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