Games › Crafting › Crafting + Crime
Should I ship a Crime Crafting game?
Crafting + Crime
Of 27 developers who shipped a Crime Crafting 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.. 75 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $660; 1 in 20 cleared $480k, ×780 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 75 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $659 (exactly $659) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $36k (exactly $35,986) |
| Top 5% | $490k (exactly $489,942) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 27 |
| Released games | 46 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 185% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Crafting; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Action
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 97% positive over 291,681 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $660. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
Schedule I 2025 · EA · $173M 
Drug Dealer Simulator 2020 · $11M 
Drug Dealer Simulator 2 2024 · $4.1M 
We. The Revolution 2019 · $1.2M 
Weedcraft Inc 2019 · $929k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Schedule I | · EA | $19.99 | 288,939 97% | 8.7M | $173M (exactly $173,276,718) | TVGS |
| | Drug Dealer Simulator | older | $19.99 | 18,297 85% | 549k | $11M (exactly $10,972,711) | Byterunners |
| | Drug Dealer Simulator 2 | older | $24.99 | 5,480 69% | 164k | $4.1M (exactly $4,108,356) | Byterunners |
| | We. The Revolution | older | $19.99 | 1,997 73% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,197,601) | Polyslash |
| | Weedcraft Inc | older | $19.99 | 1,549 79% | 46k | $929k (exactly $928,935) | Vile Monarch |
 | Drug Lord Tycoon | · EA older | $9.99 | 1,671 83% | 50k | $501k (exactly $500,799) | Duhndal |
 | Saloon Simulator | · EA | $18.99 | 860 89% | 26k | $490k (exactly $489,942) | Glivi Games S.A. |
 | Hard Time III | older | $14.99 | 929 85% | 28k | $418k (exactly $417,771) | MDickie |
 | Dirty Business | · EA | $14.99 | 906 75% | 27k | $407k (exactly $407,428) | Plan Dirty Games |
 | Prison Boss VR | older | $19.99 | 414 87% | 12k | $248k (exactly $248,276) | TREBUCHET |
 | The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire | · EA | $18.99 | 385 81% | 12k | $219k (exactly $219,334) | BEF GAMES |
 | Crime Shop Simulator: A Prison Boss Game | $19.99 | 157 85% | 4.7k | $94k (exactly $94,153) | TREBUCHET | |
 | ZOMBUTCHER: Monster Business Simulator | $12.99 | 135 69% | 4.1k | $53k (exactly $52,610) | ODIUS | |
 | My Drug Cartel | · EA | $24.99 | 48 50% | 1.4k | $36k (exactly $35,986) | Gigicom |
 | Toll Booth Simulator | $12.99 | 91 71% | 2.7k | $35k (exactly $35,463) | SifDev | |
 | The Brewline | $9.99 | 110 84% | 3.3k | $33k (exactly $32,967) | Alcora Games | |
 | Speakeasy Simulator | $11.99 | 50 88% | 1.5k | $18k (exactly $17,985) | Arcana Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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