Do I ship it?

Games › Colony Sim › Colony Sim + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Colony Sim?

Colony Sim + Idler

Of 70 developers who shipped an Idler Colony Sim 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.. 132 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×3.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×346 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 132 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 132 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Colony Sim + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 70
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $2.2k → $9.7k → $11k → $450 → $2.7k → $2.1k (still earning) → $897 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Colony Sim + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 70
Bottom 30% $537 (exactly $537)
Median $2.0k (exactly $2,035)
Top 25% $9.5k (exactly $9,456)
Top 5% $217k (exactly $217,453)
Developers, 2 yr 70
Released games 119
Announced 132
Effort 6 / 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 up 10% on the market, supply 220% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Colony Sim
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Colony Sim, Idler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Resource Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, 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 82% positive over 9,039 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $9.4k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 132 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Female ProtagonistFair7 devs · median $4.6k · 11 announced
  2. + ArcadeLong shot13 devs · median $359 · 19 announced
  3. + 4XPoor odds23 devs · median $314k · 77 announced
  4. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds11 devs · median $170k · 25 announced
  5. + Co-opPoor odds13 devs · median $73k · 54 announced
  6. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds11 devs · median $73k · 21 announced
  7. + HistoricalPoor odds42 devs · median $59k · 75 announced
  8. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds16 devs · median $59k · 43 announced
  9. + Open WorldPoor odds78 devs · median $58k · 168 announced
  10. + Action RPGPoor odds11 devs · median $58k · 35 announced
  11. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds48 devs · median $54k · 101 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds13 devs · median $50k · 31 announced

All 93 pairs on the Colony Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

WorldBox - God Simulator 2021 · EA · $31M Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim 2025 · $2.2M Fantasy Map Simulator 2024 · EA · $1.0M All Hail the Orb 2026 · $271k IDLE BOSS RUSH 2025 · $246k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
WorldBox - God Simulator · EA older $19.99 51,071 95% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,627,279) Maxim Karpenko
Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim $24.90 2,938 77% 88k $2.2M (exactly $2,194,686) Rockbee Team
Fantasy Map Simulator · EA older $7.99 4,190 89% 126k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) The Stranger
All Hail the Orb $6.99 1,291 93% 39k $271k (exactly $270,723) LeGingerDev
IDLE BOSS RUSH $9.99 820 66% 25k $246k (exactly $245,754) Irid Games
Asbury Pines · EA $12.99 558 90% 17k $217k (exactly $217,453) Chaystar Unlimited LLC
My Little Life $5.99 1,043 89% 31k $187k (exactly $187,427) 9FingerGames
Craftlings $19.99 311 86% 9.3k $187k (exactly $186,507) ARIANO Games GmbH
Factory Town Idle older $4.99 1,232 90% 37k $184k (exactly $184,430) Erik Asmussen
Hole Is Mine $7.99 741 90% 22k $178k (exactly $177,618) Incrementalist
MR FARMBOY $9.99 480 85% 14k $144k (exactly $143,856) mrdboy
FEED THE QUEEN $7.99 577 69% 17k $138k (exactly $138,307) Quiétude
STARIO: Haven Tower · EA $13.99 280 93% 8.4k $118k (exactly $117,516) Stargate Games

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