Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Mining

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Mining game?

Combat + Mining

Of 54 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 122 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×4.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×1002 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 122 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.2 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 122 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Mining
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 54
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $18k → $1.8k → $899 → $6.0k → $2.7k → $4.8k → $2.0k (still earning) → $4.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Mining: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 54
Bottom 30% $478 (exactly $478)
Median $2.6k (exactly $2,637)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $35,982)
Top 5% $629k (exactly $629,115)
Developers, 2 yr 54
Released games 117
Announced 122
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Mining
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
Combat, Mining; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Adventure
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 9,812 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.6k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $620k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sun Haven 2023 · $17M Melvor Idle 2021 · $4.4M Star Valor 2022 · $2.5M Wall World 2023 · $2.4M The Last Starship 2026 · $973k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sun Haven older $24.99 22,069 79% 662k $17M (exactly $16,545,129) Pixel Sprout Studios
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
Star Valor older $24.99 3,272 88% 98k $2.5M (exactly $2,453,018) Rafael Burgos
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
The Last Starship $19.99 1,623 75% 49k $973k (exactly $973,313) Introversion Software
Return from Core $16.99 1,620 75% 49k $826k (exactly $825,714) 顽核社 FuncoreClub
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
UnderMine 2 · EA $19.99 828 75% 25k $497k (exactly $496,552) Thorium
OxyRail · EA $14.99 949 80% 28k $427k (exactly $426,765) OxygenTech Limited
Epic Auto Towers · EA $14.99 768 70% 23k $345k (exactly $345,370) Aleksandr Golovkin
IDUN - Frontline Survival $14.99 685 77% 21k $308k (exactly $308,044) IDUN Interactive
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival $9.99 826 77% 25k $248k (exactly $247,552) RetroStyle Games
FROGGY HATES SNOW $14.99 456 91% 14k $205k (exactly $205,063) CRYING BRICK
Rocky Idle $9.99 308 83% 9.2k $92k (exactly $92,308) Rocky Games Studio

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