Games › Economy › Economy + Desktop Companion
Should I ship a Desktop Companion Economy game?
Economy + Desktop Companion
Of 32 developers who shipped a Desktop Companion Economy 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.. 37 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.9k, ×7.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×419 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 37 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.2k (exactly $2,157) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.9k (exactly $4,934) |
| Top 25% | $20k (exactly $19,587) |
| Top 5% | $263k (exactly $262,951) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 39 |
| Announced | 37 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 85% on the market, supply 255% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 3%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Economy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Desktop Companion
- effort 1 / 10 · high · effort 1 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy, Desktop Companion; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Simulation, Management
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 9 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 13,650 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.2k. 4 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different second tag, 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
Cast n Chill 2025 · $3.8M 
Rusty's Retirement 2024 · $2.9M 
Your Big, Cute Monster Farm 2025 · $263k 
Cornerpond 2025 · $230k 
Chonkers 2024 · $78k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cast n Chill | $14.99 | 8,383 94% | 251k | $3.8M (exactly $3,769,835) | Wombat Brawler | |
| | Rusty's Retirement | older | $6.99 | 13,902 96% | 417k | $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) | Mister Morris Games |
| | Your Big, Cute Monster Farm | $7.99 | 1,097 78% | 33k | $263k (exactly $262,951) | KaiPlay Studio | |
| | Cornerpond | $2.99 | 2,567 97% | 77k | $230k (exactly $230,260) | foolsroom | |
| | Chonkers | $4.99 | 518 87% | 16k | $78k (exactly $77,545) | Solar Eclipse Games | |
 | Bao Bao's™ Cozy Laundromat | $3.99 | 410 83% | 12k | $49k (exactly $49,077) | Destroyer Doggo | |
 | Little Aviary | $3.99 | 231 86% | 6.9k | $28k (exactly $27,651) | atomco | |
 | Desktop Cat Cafe | $9.99 | 83 75% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $24,875) | samyam, lockyaw | |
 | Tidehaven: Ale & Trade | · EA | $5.99 | 109 74% | 3.3k | $20k (exactly $19,587) | Bunch'o'Nerds |
 | Corner Market | · EA | $3.99 | 135 89% | 4.1k | $16k (exactly $16,160) | Tiny Orbit |
 | Ramen-ten ‘Heart Abyss’ | $2.99 | 117 70% | 3.5k | $10k (exactly $10,495) | DEADMAP |
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.