Do I ship it?

GamesCraftingCrafting + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Crafting game?

Crafting + Steampunk

Only 14 developers shipped a Steampunk Crafting 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, Castle Of Alchemists, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 55 more are announced, ×5.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.0k, ×9.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×443 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 55 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 55 announced, ×5.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $6.0k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $6.0k (exactly $5,998)
Top 25% $52k (exactly $51,782)
Top 5% $278k (exactly $277,915)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 46
Announced 55
Effort 5 / 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 down 100% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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.

Crafting
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Steampunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Crafting; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Procedural Generation
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 2,067 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $6.0k, 1 in 4 over $51k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 4 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Crafting with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Volcanoids · EA older $19.99 7,679 83% 230k $4.6M (exactly $4,605,096) Volcanoid
Black Skylands older $19.99 2,849 82% 85k $1.7M (exactly $1,708,545) Hungry Couch Games
Deathtrap older $19.99 1,858 84% 56k $1.1M (exactly $1,114,243) NeocoreGames
Dream Engines: Nomad Cities older $29.99 552 73% 17k $497k (exactly $496,634) Suncrash
Shardpunk older $13.99 739 92% 22k $310k (exactly $310,158) Clockwork Pile
Scrapnaut older $13.99 738 69% 22k $310k (exactly $309,739) SpiffyBit
Krater older $14.99 676 56% 20k $304k (exactly $303,997) Fatshark
Castle Of Alchemists $14.99 618 80% 19k $278k (exactly $277,915) Team Machiavelli
Chocolate Factory Simulator $19.99 355 72% 11k $213k (exactly $212,893) Games Incubator
Airmen older $14.99 315 76% 9.5k $142k (exactly $141,656) Airborne Games
Super Mining Mechs $4.99 841 86% 25k $126k (exactly $125,898) Delayed Victory
ShipShaper: Falconeer Chronicles · EA $8.99 192 96% 5.8k $52k (exactly $51,782) Tomas Sala
Nova Patria $11.99 22 100% 660 $7.9k (exactly $7,913) Sower Interactive
The Wilds of Dacrima: Field Notes from a Poorly Supervised Alchemist and his Unruly Clockwork Companion $19.99 13 100% 390 $7.8k (exactly $7,796) Antler Studios
Wings of Aviora · EA $24.99 8 87% 240 $6.0k (exactly $5,998) Stormy XP
Tinker-World: Arrival at Kedhreon $6.99 10 90% 300 $2.1k (exactly $2,097) From The Cave, TibiSoft
Steampunk Idle Spinner $4.99 5 80% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Airapport
Endless Vine · EA $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Circuit Root

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