Do I ship it?

GamesMiningMining + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Mining game?

Mining + Capitalism

Of 47 developers who shipped a Capitalist Mining 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.. 53 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $7.9k, ×17 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $640k, ×1350 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 53 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 16.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 53 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 47
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.0k → $11k (still earning) → $4.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 47
Bottom 30% $2.0k (exactly $1,978)
Median $7.9k (exactly $7,907)
Top 25% $85k (exactly $85,329)
Top 5% $641k (exactly $641,446)
Developers, 2 yr 47
Released games 68
Announced 53
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 down 90% on the market, supply 335% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Mining
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Mining; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Economy, Management, Resource Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 24,140 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $7.9k, 1 in 4 over $85k, 1 in 20 over $640k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 5 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 39 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FarmingStrong odds18 devs · median $22k · 15 announced
  2. + TradingFair32 devs · median $12k · 33 announced
  3. + DwarvesFair17 devs · median $9.6k · 26 announced
  4. + Tower DefenseFair33 devs · median $6.3k · 45 announced
  5. + EconomyFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  6. + AutomationFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  7. + Turn-Based StrategyFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  9. + NatureFair42 devs · median $2.4k · 49 announced
  10. + IdlerFair136 devs · median $2.3k · 185 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair63 devs · median $2.1k · 53 announced

All 91 pairs on the Mining page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Turmoil older $12.99 13,154 92% 395k $5.1M (exactly $5,126,114) Gamious
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
Ore Factory Squad ⛏️ $12.99 1,646 87% 49k $641k (exactly $641,446) threeW
Coal LLC $14.99 1,343 92% 40k $604k (exactly $603,947) Bye Bye Ocean
Keep on Mining! - Worlds $6.99 1,899 80% 57k $398k (exactly $398,220) EagleEye Games
Industry Giant 4.0 $24.99 506 33% 15k $379k (exactly $379,348) Don VS Dodo
Gemporium: A Cute Mining Sim $9.99 1,153 93% 35k $346k (exactly $345,554) Merge Conflict Studio
Galactic Mining Corp older $12.99 868 84% 26k $338k (exactly $338,260) Windybeard
Hole Is Mine $7.99 741 90% 22k $178k (exactly $177,618) Incrementalist
Rise of Industry 2 $34.99 154 55% 4.6k $162k (exactly $161,654) SomaSim
Deep Corp · EA $11.99 365 89% 11k $131k (exactly $131,290) KishMish Games

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