Games › Economy › Economy + Demons
Should I ship a Demon Economy game?
Economy + Demons
Only 17 developers shipped a Demon Economy 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, Worshippers of Cthulhu, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 21 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $970k, ×1558 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 21 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $11,953) |
| Top 5% | $978k (exactly $978,358) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 28 |
| Announced | 21 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 225% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, 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
- Economy; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Loot
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 2,628 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 4 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Worshippers of Cthulhu 2025 · $978k 
Wayblazer Dämmerung 2026 · $293k 
Hell Architect 2021 · $267k 
Loot Tycoon 2026 · EA · $114k 
The Unholy Priest 2025 · $111k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Worshippers of Cthulhu | $24.99 | 1,305 80% | 39k | $978k (exactly $978,358) | Crazy Goat Games | |
| | Wayblazer Dämmerung | $39.99 | 244 65% | 7.3k | $293k (exactly $292,727) | Eushully | |
| | Hell Architect | older | $24.99 | 356 65% | 11k | $267k (exactly $266,893) | Woodland Games |
| | Loot Tycoon | · EA | $6.99 | 544 71% | 16k | $114k (exactly $114,077) | Parallel Portal |
| | The Unholy Priest | $9.99 | 370 72% | 11k | $111k (exactly $110,889) | Grejuva | |
 | Horror Tycoon | · EA older | $14.99 | 90 61% | 2.7k | $40k (exactly $40,473) | Smidge Games LLC |
 | Lichgate: Tower Survivor | $6.99 | 57 75% | 1.7k | $12k (exactly $11,953) | Sun Lion Games | |
 | MatchR: Now Hiring | older | $4.99 | 70 90% | 2.1k | $10k (exactly $10,479) | Delirium Tremens Games |
 | Desolation Tycoon | older | $11.99 | 28 85% | 840 | $10k (exactly $10,072) | Iron Boar Labs Ltd. |
 | The HELL | · EA | $9.99 | 30 73% | 900 | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) | METROPOLICE |
 | BreakEven - Idle | · EA | $4.99 | 39 58% | 1.2k | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) | NKnives |
 | SOUL PARK | $9.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | CLEDU | |
 | Bottomless Pit Supervisor | $4.99 | 17 58% | 510 | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) | sudo make | |
 | Idle Harem Dungeon | $6.99 | 12 41% | 360 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | Cheedle |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.