Do I ship it?

GamesLootLoot + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Loot game?

Loot + Capitalism

Of 36 developers who shipped a Capitalist Loot 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.. 52 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $14k, ×22 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $2.4k. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 52 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 21.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 52 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $31k → $56k → $14k (still earning) → $4.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $2.3k (exactly $2,336)
Median $14k (exactly $13,772)
Top 25% $86k (exactly $85,767)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 61
Announced 52
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.49

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 70% on the market, supply 330% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Loot; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Economy, Idler, Management
Price point
$6.49 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.49.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 17,930 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.4k, median $14k, 1 in 4 over $85k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds28 devs · median $19k · 22 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  3. + SteampunkStrong odds7 devs · median $2.2k · 10 announced
  4. + Turn-Based StrategyFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  5. + JRPGFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  6. + EconomyFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  7. + IdlerFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  8. + CatsFair17 devs · median $3.4k · 24 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  10. + Creature CollectorFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  11. + CollectathonFair90 devs · median $1.9k · 95 announced
  12. + ArcadeFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced

All 159 pairs on the Loot page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Storage Hunter Simulator $24.99 3,866 78% 116k $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) Raccoons Studio
Keep on Mining! $4.99 8,300 93% 249k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510) EagleEye Games
Keep on Mining! - Worlds $6.99 1,899 80% 57k $398k (exactly $398,220) EagleEye Games
Wayblazer Dämmerung $39.99 244 65% 7.3k $293k (exactly $292,727) Eushully
Hole Is Mine $7.99 741 90% 22k $178k (exactly $177,618) Incrementalist
Coin Push RPG $9.99 584 76% 18k $175k (exactly $175,025) RAmen
Captain Whiskers: Incremental Seas $5.99 886 85% 27k $159k (exactly $159,214) Happy Universe Studios
Smash Hit Museum $6.99 507 85% 15k $106k (exactly $106,318) InIt Games
Agrivore: Incremental Farming $6.99 494 70% 15k $104k (exactly $103,592) verty
Skeleseller $6.99 409 91% 12k $86k (exactly $85,767) Xtonomous

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