Games › Economy › Economy + Gambling
Should I ship a Gambling Economy game?
Economy + Gambling
Of 55 developers who shipped a Gambling 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.. 113 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $610k, ×987 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 113 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,197) |
| Top 25% | $26k (exactly $25,793) |
| Top 5% | $620k (exactly $619,664) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 55 |
| Released games | 93 |
| Announced | 113 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 15% on the market, supply 225% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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, Gambling; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Resource Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Pixel Graphics, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 27,630 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 113 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
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
Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M 
STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator 2023 · EA · $936k 
Fortune Mill 2026 · $890k 
Gamblers Table 2026 · $620k 
Drug Lord Tycoon 2024 · EA · $501k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Scritchy Scratchy | $6.99 | 15,245 94% | 457k | $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) | Lunch Money Games | |
| | STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator | · EA older | $9.99 | 3,124 95% | 94k | $936k (exactly $936,263) | TERNOX |
| | Fortune Mill | $7.99 | 3,712 81% | 111k | $890k (exactly $889,766) | Lavaflame2 | |
| | Gamblers Table | $6.99 | 2,955 74% | 89k | $620k (exactly $619,664) | greenpixels, Bossforge | |
| | Drug Lord Tycoon | · EA older | $9.99 | 1,671 83% | 50k | $501k (exactly $500,799) | Duhndal |
 | The House Always Wins | $12.99 | 866 85% | 26k | $337k (exactly $337,480) | Toxic Studio | |
 | Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator | $19.99 | 513 91% | 15k | $308k (exactly $307,646) | Strange Scaffold | |
 | Ultimate Theater Simulator | $12.99 | 634 88% | 19k | $247k (exactly $247,070) | RAKTWO Games, steelbox Games | |
 | Casino Simulator | · EA older | $9.99 | 786 81% | 24k | $236k (exactly $235,564) | Lodos Games |
 | Incredicer | $2.99 | 2,408 85% | 72k | $216k (exactly $215,998) | pochi | |
 | Slots & Diapers | $6.99 | 539 88% | 16k | $113k (exactly $113,028) | Parodie Games | |
 | Scratch the Ticket | $9.99 | 183 44% | 5.5k | $55k (exactly $54,845) | Shilenok | |
 | Scratchers | $2.99 | 575 57% | 17k | $52k (exactly $51,578) | muffler |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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