Games › Crafting › Crafting + Idler
Should I ship a Crafting Idler?
Crafting + Idler
Of 235 developers who shipped a Crafting Idler 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.. 338 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $480. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 338 games are announced against 172 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) |
| Top 25% | $7.3k (exactly $7,282) |
| Top 5% | $152k (exactly $152,380) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 235 |
| Released games | 476 |
| Announced | 338 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 170% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 24%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Crafting, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Resource Management, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 36,377 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 89 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 338 games are announced against 172 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
Comparable games
BALL x PIT 2025 · $11M 
Melvor Idle 2021 · $4.4M 
BitCraft Online 2025 · EA · $1.6M 
Fantasy Map Simulator 2024 · EA · $1.0M 
Swag and Sorcery 2019 · $903k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BALL x PIT | $14.99 | 24,714 95% | 741k | $11M (exactly $11,113,886) | Kenny Sun and Friends | |
| | Melvor Idle | older | $9.99 | 14,630 90% | 439k | $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) | Games by Malcs |
| | BitCraft Online | · EA | $15.99 | 3,334 72% | 100k | $1.6M (exactly $1,599,320) | Clockwork Laboratories, Inc. |
| | Fantasy Map Simulator | · EA older | $7.99 | 4,190 89% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) | The Stranger |
| | Swag and Sorcery | older | $12.99 | 2,318 54% | 70k | $903k (exactly $903,325) | Lazy Bear Games, Uroboros Games |
 | Beer Factory | older | $18.99 | 1,410 40% | 42k | $803k (exactly $803,277) | MyceliumGames |
 | Orb of Creation | $11.99 | 2,167 84% | 65k | $779k (exactly $779,470) | MarpleGames | |
 | Hotel Galactic | · EA | $34.99 | 594 73% | 18k | $624k (exactly $623,522) | EndGameLoop Games |
 | Weapon Shop Fantasy | older | $9.99 | 1,560 78% | 47k | $468k (exactly $467,532) | INDIECN |
 | Beltmatic | older | $6.99 | 2,199 94% | 66k | $461k (exactly $461,130) | Notional Games |
 | Forage Wizard | $6.99 | 1,549 87% | 46k | $325k (exactly $324,825) | Lost Maxim | |
 | Nomad Idle | $9.99 | 852 64% | 26k | $255k (exactly $255,344) | The Fox Knocks | |
 | Another Try 2 | · EA | $6.99 | 1,000 53% | 30k | $210k (exactly $209,700) | Hoki Wolf Studio |
 | Military Incremental Complex | $9.99 | 692 82% | 21k | $207k (exactly $207,392) | Space Kraken Studios | |
 | Desktop Raid | $8.99 | 672 76% | 20k | $181k (exactly $181,238) | Lee_Studio | |
 | Zad Archery | $6.99 | 803 73% | 24k | $168k (exactly $168,389) | Samharia Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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