Do I ship it?

GamesEconomyEconomy + Fishing

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fishing Economy game?

Economy + Fishing

Of 49 developers who shipped a Fishing 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.. 66 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $23k, ×37 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×3311 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 66 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 36.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 66 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Fishing
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 49
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $800k → $4.1k → $15k → $28k → $23k → $103k (still earning) → $26k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Fishing: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 49
Bottom 30% $3.2k (exactly $3,232)
Median $23k (exactly $23,002)
Top 25% $147k (exactly $147,354)
Top 5% $2.1M (exactly $2,079,097)
Developers, 2 yr 49
Released games 73
Announced 66
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 up 35% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Fishing
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Economy, Fishing; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Idler
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 28,807 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.3k, median $23k, 1 in 4 over $140k, 1 in 20 over $2.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.3k. 5 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  2. + Football (Soccer)Fair21 devs · median $6.8k · 29 announced
  3. + ScienceFair39 devs · median $5.9k · 39 announced
  4. + MiningFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + LootFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  6. + CollectathonFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  7. + God GameFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  8. + Auto BattlerFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  9. + IdlerFair441 devs · median $2.3k · 589 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair408 devs · median $2.2k · 612 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  12. + Strategy RPGFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced

All 161 pairs on the Economy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
Farm Together 2 $25.99 4,456 93% 134k $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) Milkstone Studios
CryoFall older $19.99 4,905 78% 147k $2.9M (exactly $2,941,528) AtomicTorch Studio
Megaquarium older $24.99 3,444 95% 103k $2.6M (exactly $2,581,967) Twice Circled
Go-Go Town! $27.99 2,476 93% 74k $2.1M (exactly $2,079,097) Prideful Sloth
Immortal Life older $16.99 3,853 79% 116k $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) YiFang Studio
Mirthwood $24.99 2,242 69% 67k $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827) Bad Ridge Games
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
Russian Village Simulator older $29.99 889 84% 27k $800k (exactly $799,833) VD Games, PropilGames
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios
Scale the Depths $9.99 1,881 88% 56k $564k (exactly $563,736) Glass Gecko Games
Farm to Table · EA $14.99 645 91% 19k $290k (exactly $290,056) indieGiant
Fishing Inc $4.99 1,833 91% 55k $274k (exactly $274,400) BigBonk Studio
Cornerpond $2.99 2,567 97% 77k $230k (exactly $230,260) foolsroom
Tiny Terraces · EA $6.99 938 92% 28k $197k (exactly $196,699) VuVuu

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