Should I ship a Crime Idler?
Idler + Crime
Only 18 developers shipped a Crime Idler 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, Schedule Store Simulator, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $630, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 260% on the market; 24 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $629 (exactly $629) |
| Top 25% | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) |
| Top 5% | $13k (exactly $12,592) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 30 |
| Announced | 24 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.20 |
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 260% on the market, supply 250% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Idler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Automation, Crafting
- Price point
- $4.20 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.20.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 235 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 24 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Idler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashFair
- + DrivingFair
- + LootFair
- + FPSFair
- + Turn-Based CombatFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + CapitalismFair
- + SwordplayFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Denos City: Complete Game | older | $11.99 | 217 70% | 6.5k | $78k (exactly $78,055) | Backhole |
| | Federation77 | older | $9.99 | 96 78% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $28,771) | MIROWIN |
| | Schedule Store Simulator | · EA | $14.99 | 28 92% | 840 | $13k (exactly $12,592) | Alkame Games |
| | Refuted Wind | $1.99 | 148 77% | 4.4k | $8.8k (exactly $8,836) | Tropical Games | |
| | Presence | older | $1.99 | 91 72% | 2.7k | $5.4k (exactly $5,433) | VLADIMIR GUSSAKOV |
| | EmpireX - Business, Real Estate and Crime Simulator | $14.99 | 8 75% | 240 | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) | darkwolf66 | |
| | Streetlight Syndicate | $6.99 | 17 82% | 510 | $3.6k (exactly $3,565) | BeagleGuy | |
| | My University Girlfriend | older | $0.99 | 88 87% | 2.6k | $2.6k (exactly $2,614) | 好色猫 |
| | Find the stalker | older | $4.99 | 13 84% | 390 | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) | NoSkillLodge |
| | Chilling Silence | $3.99 | 16 56% | 480 | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) | podushki | |
| | Drug Empire | $9.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | SONATA | |
| | Idle High | $4.20 | 6 83% | 180 | $756 (exactly $756) | Fat Rooster Game Studios | |
| | Bjois | $7.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $719 (exactly $719) | Technolithic Softworks | |
| | MY IDEAL BOOBS | $6.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $629 (exactly $629) | 竜偶城 | |
| | Tasty Beverage | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | Bolko, Reality Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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