Do I ship it?

GamesChoices MatterChoices Matter + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Choices Matter Idler?

Choices Matter + Idler

Of 127 developers who shipped a Choices Matter 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.. 178 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $840, ×1.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $52k, ×110 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 178 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 178 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Choices Matter + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 127
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $2.7k → $3.6k → $718 → $2.2k → $1.0k → $1.4k (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Choices Matter + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 127
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $839 (exactly $839)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,491)
Top 5% $52k (exactly $52,448)
Developers, 2 yr 127
Released games 308
Announced 178
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 flat on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Choices Matter
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Choices Matter, Idler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Incremental, Visual Novel
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, 3D
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 86% positive over 3,315 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $840, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $52k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 56 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 178 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds108 devs · median $58k · 91 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair18 devs · median $4.7k · 15 announced
  3. + SportsFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced
  4. + RhythmFair36 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced
  5. + Hidden ObjectFair261 devs · median $802 · 273 announced
  6. + TriviaFair26 devs · median $599 · 30 announced
  7. + Board GameFair119 devs · median $479 · 150 announced
  8. + RacingFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  9. + ChessFair19 devs · median $419 · 20 announced
  10. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  11. + RomePoor odds10 devs · median $160k · 19 announced
  12. + World War IPoor odds10 devs · median $57k · 19 announced

All 243 pairs on the Choices Matter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
THE LONGING older $14.99 6,977 92% 209k $3.1M (exactly $3,137,557) Studio Seufz
Vanity Fair: The Pursuit older $6.99 4,014 87% 120k $842k (exactly $841,736) 木焱工作室
All Hail the Orb $6.99 1,291 93% 39k $271k (exactly $270,723) LeGingerDev
A guard walks into a tavern older $7.99 415 83% 12k $99k (exactly $99,476) SuQing
Lust Sisters 🔞 $14.99 215 67% 6.5k $97k (exactly $96,686) Carnality INC
Samawa Idle older $4.99 600 65% 18k $90k (exactly $89,820) Samharia Studios
Sex Hotel Simulator 🏩 older $9.99 294 50% 8.8k $88k (exactly $88,112) Octo Games
Giant Waifu Wash Simulator 💦 $14.99 194 65% 5.8k $87k (exactly $87,242) Lewd Star
My Holiness the Gobliness older $7.99 337 83% 10k $81k (exactly $80,779) BFGS
Denos City: Complete Game older $11.99 217 70% 6.5k $78k (exactly $78,055) Backhole
Zavod · EA $6.00 404 91% 12k $73k (exactly $72,720) Gendocik
Monster Girls: You Can't Say No 🔞 $14.99 158 91% 4.7k $71k (exactly $71,053) Lewd Star
Eldara $7.50 243 83% 7.3k $55k (exactly $54,675) Eldara Games
Bonjour, Cream Inside 💦 $14.99 119 68% 3.6k $54k (exactly $53,514) Juicy Peach Games 🍑
Massage With Benefits $9.99 175 84% 5.3k $52k (exactly $52,448) pasunna
Garbage Growth $4.99 350 91% 11k $52k (exactly $52,395) apepatrickdev
SEX Amnesia - Lover Sim 🔞 $9.99 166 68% 5.0k $50k (exactly $49,750) OneHand Games

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