Games › Economy › Economy + Hacking
Should I ship a Hacking Economy game?
Economy + Hacking
Only 13 developers shipped a Hacking 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, Streamer Life Simulator 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 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 $6.3k, ×10 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $4.0M, ×6447 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 24 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.3k (exactly $6,291) |
| Top 25% | $31k (exactly $31,487) |
| Top 5% | $4.0M (exactly $4,048,575) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 29 |
| Announced | 24 |
| 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 85% on the market, supply 235% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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, Action, Idler
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, First-Person, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 7,574 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 24 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
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
Internet Cafe Simulator 2 2022 · $7.4M 
Streamer Life Simulator 2 2026 · $4.0M 
Internet Cafe Simulator 2019 · $2.6M 
Screeps: World 2016 · $1.2M 
Crypto Mining Simulator 2021 · $212k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Internet Cafe Simulator 2 | older | $19.99 | 12,299 74% | 369k | $7.4M (exactly $7,375,710) | Cheesecake Dev |
| | Streamer Life Simulator 2 | $19.99 | 6,751 81% | 203k | $4.0M (exactly $4,048,575) | Cheesecake Dev | |
| | Internet Cafe Simulator | older | $9.99 | 8,729 75% | 262k | $2.6M (exactly $2,616,081) | Cheesecake Dev |
| | Screeps: World | older | $19.99 | 1,934 86% | 58k | $1.2M (exactly $1,159,820) | Screeps, LLC |
| | Crypto Mining Simulator | older | $4.99 | 1,419 65% | 43k | $212k (exactly $212,424) | Satosha Nakamoti |
 | GameDev Life Simulator 🎮🕹 | older | $19.99 | 144 59% | 4.3k | $86k (exactly $86,357) | Octo Games studio |
 | DEFRAG | $2.99 | 534 93% | 16k | $48k (exactly $47,900) | BlueDot Studio | |
 | Infiniclick | $7.99 | 140 72% | 4.2k | $34k (exactly $33,558) | Nacho AB | |
 | Web Host Simulator | · EA | $24.99 | 42 26% | 1.3k | $31k (exactly $31,487) | Chibum |
 | DeepWeb Simulator | · EA older | $12.49 | 57 61% | 1.7k | $21k (exactly $21,358) | Bull Games |
 | Data Center Simulator Game | · EA | $22.00 | 11 9% | 330 | $7.3k (exactly $7,260) | DC Uplink |
 | Games Tycoon | $5.99 | 39 53% | 1.2k | $7.0k (exactly $7,008) | Insignis Games | |
 | SpreadCheat | $6.99 | 30 96% | 900 | $6.3k (exactly $6,291) | Games People Play, Rubarb | |
 | Crypto Mining | $4.99 | 16 12% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) | KA1LEOT GROUP | |
 | PolyCrime | · EA | $9.99 | 6 66% | 180 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | FoxGameDev |
 | RAM Downloader | $4.99 | 5 60% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | Maro Dek |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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