Do I ship it?

GamesMiningMining + Cooking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Cooking game?

Mining + Cooking

Only 19 developers shipped a Mining Cooking game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Fields of Mistria, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 38 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $13M, ×28202 the market median. Revenue is up 1495% on the market; 38 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 1495% on the market, 38 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + Cooking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $1.2k → $8.4k (still earning) → $153k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + Cooking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,678)
Top 25% $153k (exactly $152,513)
Top 5% $13M (exactly $13,395,985)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 39
Announced 38
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 1495% on the market, supply 180% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Cooking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Cooking; all of the top 25% also carry Building, Crafting, Open World
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 46,608 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $150k, 1 in 20 over $13M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Mining with a different second tag, 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
Sun Haven older $24.99 22,069 79% 662k $17M (exactly $16,545,129) Pixel Sprout Studios
Fields of Mistria $13.99 31,918 96% 958k $13M (exactly $13,395,985) NPC Studio
The Quinfall $9.99 12,073 50% 362k $3.6M (exactly $3,618,278) Vawraek Technology Inc.
Immortal Life older $16.99 3,853 79% 116k $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) YiFang Studio
Alaska Gold Fever $16.99 959 79% 29k $489k (exactly $488,802) Baked Games
OxyRail · EA $14.99 949 80% 28k $427k (exactly $426,765) OxygenTech Limited
Cornucopia® · EA older $24.99 412 87% 12k $309k (exactly $308,876) David Dolynny
Creator Chronicles $11.99 424 64% 13k $153k (exactly $152,513) Origin Studio
Lighthouse Keeper older $11.99 336 81% 10k $121k (exactly $120,859) Stratera Games
Snacktorio $7.99 215 90% 6.5k $52k (exactly $51,536) ellraiser
Upgradia · EA $9.99 32 65% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) Mytharia
Bitter Harvest $9.99 28 71% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) BitQuest Studio
Undefined Survivors -アンディファインド サバイバーズ- · EA $29.99 2 0% 60 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) Runpath Inc.
RuneClick $6.99 8 100% 240 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) Vosk Games

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