Do I ship it?

Games › Idler › Idler + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Idler?

Idler + Dystopian

Of 36 developers who shipped a Dystopian Idler 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.. 39 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×257 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 39 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 39 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Idler + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $3.0k → $7.8k → $807 (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Idler + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $238 (exactly $238)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,435)
Top 25% $5.9k (exactly $5,933)
Top 5% $122k (exactly $122,016)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 56
Announced 39
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.70

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 40% on the market, supply 315% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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.

Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Simulation, Strategy
Price point
$4.70 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $4.70.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 3,965 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds10 devs · median $36k · 10 announced
  2. + FarmingStrong odds33 devs · median $5.9k · 25 announced
  3. + Hack and SlashFair32 devs · median $6.4k · 50 announced
  4. + DrivingFair16 devs · median $5.5k · 18 announced
  5. + LootFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  6. + FPSFair22 devs · median $4.2k · 23 announced
  7. + Turn-Based CombatFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  8. + Turn-Based StrategyFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair16 devs · median $3.0k · 17 announced
  10. + Dark FantasyFair83 devs · median $2.9k · 128 announced
  11. + CapitalismFair205 devs · median $2.9k · 260 announced
  12. + SwordplayFair9 devs · median $2.7k · 4 announced

All 177 pairs on the Idler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

FACEMINER 2025 · $364k Execute 2025 · $122k Fill Up The Hole 2025 · $105k UncleOffice:uncle Dating Simulator 2025 · $44k Femdemic - An Idle World Feminization Game 2023 · $29k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
FACEMINER $7.99 1,517 90% 46k $364k (exactly $363,625) Wristwork
Execute $5.99 679 91% 20k $122k (exactly $122,016) Payne Robinson
Fill Up The Hole $2.99 1,165 90% 35k $105k (exactly $104,501) Fluffy Lotus
UncleOffice:uncle Dating Simulator $15.99 92 61% 2.8k $44k (exactly $44,132) GameUncle
Femdemic - An Idle World Feminization Game older $14.99 64 53% 1.9k $29k (exactly $28,781) Rel.Pink
UNHUMAN $3.99 161 73% 4.8k $19k (exactly $19,272) Kinda Lowkey Games
BastionOS $3.30 173 97% 5.2k $17k (exactly $17,127) Feral Paw
Loot Box Quest older $0.99 470 92% 14k $14k (exactly $13,959) Going Loud Studios
Kingdom Incremental · EA older $9.99 41 34% 1.2k $12k (exactly $12,288) Royal Goose Studios
Paperwork $3.99 92 95% 2.8k $11k (exactly $11,012) Broken Record Studio
The End Grows $9.99 26 92% 780 $7.8k (exactly $7,792) Atopia.studio
Terra Foliata $8.99 22 72% 660 $5.9k (exactly $5,933) Teleolabs
VIOLENT RUSH $3.99 38 97% 1.1k $4.5k (exactly $4,549) Sky Seekers

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