Do I ship it?

GamesIncrementalIncremental + Crime

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crime Incremental game?

Incremental + Crime

Of 23 developers who shipped a Crime Incremental 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $46k, ×74 the market median. Revenue is up 215% on the market; 36 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 215% on the market, 36 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental + Crime
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $629 → $1.7k → $179 → $4.6k → $599 (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Incremental + Crime: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,055)
Top 5% $47k (exactly $46,502)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 62
Announced 36
Effort 6 / 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 215% on the market, supply 185% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
Crime
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Incremental; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Multiple Endings, Simulation, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 560 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $600, 1 in 4 over $3.0k, 1 in 20 over $46k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds15 devs · median $11k · 12 announced
  2. + OtomeStrong odds12 devs · median $7.0k · 11 announced
  3. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $6.1k · 15 announced
  4. + FarmingFair21 devs · median $5.9k · 23 announced
  5. + Dynamic NarrationFair19 devs · median $4.0k · 14 announced
  6. + MiningFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair15 devs · median $3.5k · 20 announced
  9. + Dating SimFair140 devs · median $3.1k · 136 announced
  10. + UndergroundFair27 devs · median $3.0k · 35 announced
  11. + LootFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  12. + SupernaturalFair33 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced

All 188 pairs on the Incremental page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Peeping Dorm Manager older $10.99 6,206 92% 186k $2.0M (exactly $2,046,118) HornyDoge
Ravenous Devils older $4.99 9,477 92% 284k $1.4M (exactly $1,418,707) Bad Vices Games
Chicken Police - Paint it RED! older $19.99 1,624 94% 49k $974k (exactly $973,913) The Wild Gentlemen
Weedcraft Inc older $19.99 1,549 79% 46k $929k (exactly $928,935) Vile Monarch
1 to 1 humanoid edible toys older $7.99 2,420 92% 73k $580k (exactly $580,074) 汉谟拉比炒面, 我的屁是香哒
JudgeSim older $6.99 1,376 84% 41k $289k (exactly $288,547) DelusionArt Studio
CLICKOLDING older $2.99 1,662 81% 50k $149k (exactly $149,081) Strange Scaffold
坏小孩 older $2.99 1,586 95% 48k $142k (exactly $142,264) WildMonkey
Denos City: Complete Game older $11.99 217 70% 6.5k $78k (exactly $78,055) Backhole
春泥 Soil of Rebirth $9.99 216 73% 6.5k $65k (exactly $64,735) 午夜说书人
Snowed Under | 雪葬 $7.99 194 60% 5.8k $47k (exactly $46,502) Chilla's Art
Femme Fatality $7.99 66 89% 2.0k $16k (exactly $15,820) Jeistar
High School Rizz Party $6.99 22 81% 660 $4.6k (exactly $4,613) MirKO
Streetlight Syndicate $6.99 17 82% 510 $3.6k (exactly $3,565) BeagleGuy
三九 $5.99 17 64% 510 $3.1k (exactly $3,055) 暗极工坊
Smoke Town $6.99 9 100% 270 $1.9k (exactly $1,887) TSRV
Arms Dealer $5.99 9 100% 270 $1.6k (exactly $1,617) Koro Pixel Studio
The Boston Breeder $12.99 4 25% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) LostWorks
Idle High $4.20 6 83% 180 $756 (exactly $756) Fat Rooster Game Studios

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