Do I ship it?

GamesEconomyEconomy + Collectathon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Collectathon Economy game?

Economy + Collectathon

Of 125 developers who shipped a Collectathon Economy 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.. 151 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.8k, ×6.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.1k. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 151 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 151 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Collectathon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 125
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.1k → $14k → $3.0k → $15k → $5.2k → $7.2k → $2.8k (still earning) → $2.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Collectathon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 125
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $3.8k (exactly $3,835)
Top 25% $30k (exactly $30,010)
Top 5% $424k (exactly $423,580)
Developers, 2 yr 125
Released games 199
Announced 151
Effort 5 / 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 15% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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.

Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Collectathon
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
Economy, Collectathon; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Immersive Sim
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 91,084 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $3.8k, 1 in 4 over $30k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 6 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 151 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  2. + Football (Soccer)Fair21 devs · median $6.8k · 29 announced
  3. + ScienceFair39 devs · median $5.9k · 39 announced
  4. + MiningFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + LootFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  6. + God GameFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  8. + IdlerFair441 devs · median $2.3k · 589 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair408 devs · median $2.2k · 612 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  11. + Strategy RPGFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced
  12. + Grid-Based MovementFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 29 announced

All 161 pairs on the Economy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
TCG Card Shop Simulator $19.99 47,357 96% 1.4M $28M (exactly $28,399,993) OPNeon Games
Cookie Clicker older $4.99 87,916 96% 2.6M $13M (exactly $13,161,025) Orteil, DashNet
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
Keep on Mining! $4.99 8,300 93% 249k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510) EagleEye Games
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios
Digseum $2.99 8,033 97% 241k $721k (exactly $720,560) Rat Monthly
Supercar Collection Simulator $12.99 1,528 85% 46k $595k (exactly $595,462) Kiki Games
Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer $11.99 1,609 82% 48k $579k (exactly $578,757) ShaneGame
The Brew Barons older $21.99 828 75% 25k $546k (exactly $546,232) Lifetap Studios
BLACKWOOD $24.99 565 46% 17k $424k (exactly $423,580) AttritoM7 Productions
Keep on Mining! - Worlds $6.99 1,899 80% 57k $398k (exactly $398,220) EagleEye Games
My Wife Threw Out My Card Collection (So I Bought a Dump to Find Them All) ⭐ $7.95 1,601 65% 48k $382k (exactly $381,838) Polnoch

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