Games › Crafting › Crafting + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Crafting game?
Crafting + Mystery
Of 94 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 271 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $770k, ×1241 the market median. Revenue is up 155% on the market; 271 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,155) |
| Top 25% | $46k (exactly $46,481) |
| Top 5% | $779k (exactly $779,470) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 94 |
| Released games | 229 |
| Announced | 271 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.60 |
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 155% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Survival
- Price point
- $8.60 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.60.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 37,462 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 271 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 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
Graveyard Keeper 2018 · $24M 
The Wild Eight 2019 · $5.0M 
Len's Island 2025 · $4.4M 
Eastshade 2019 · $3.9M 
A Game About Digging A Hole™ 2025 · $2.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Graveyard Keeper | older | $19.99 | 39,547 86% | 1.2M | $24M (exactly $23,716,336) | Lazy Bear Games |
| | The Wild Eight | older | $24.99 | 6,646 69% | 199k | $5.0M (exactly $4,982,506) | Eight Points |
| | Len's Island | $24.99 | 5,935 82% | 178k | $4.4M (exactly $4,449,470) | Flow Studio | |
| | Eastshade | older | $24.99 | 5,183 89% | 155k | $3.9M (exactly $3,885,695) | Eastshade Studios |
| | A Game About Digging A Hole™ | $4.99 | 18,785 89% | 564k | $2.8M (exactly $2,812,114) | DoubleBee | |
 | Techtonica | $29.99 | 3,076 64% | 92k | $2.8M (exactly $2,767,477) | Fire Hose Games | |
 | The Solus Project | older | $19.99 | 2,471 79% | 74k | $1.5M (exactly $1,481,859) | Hourences, Grip Games |
 | Total Chaos | $24.99 | 1,561 86% | 47k | $1.2M (exactly $1,170,282) | Trigger Happy Interactive | |
 | Orb of Creation | $11.99 | 2,167 84% | 65k | $779k (exactly $779,470) | MarpleGames | |
 | Welcome to Elderfield | $17.99 | 1,334 87% | 40k | $720k (exactly $719,960) | Chris Cote | |
 | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
 | The Gold River Project | · EA | $24.99 | 617 62% | 19k | $463k (exactly $462,565) | Fairview Games Inc. |
 | Stygian: Outer Gods | · EA | $24.99 | 516 80% | 15k | $387k (exactly $386,845) | Misterial Games |
 | Meltopia | $6.99 | 1,679 85% | 50k | $352k (exactly $352,086) | Garden of Dreams |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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