Games › Economy › Economy + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Economy game?
Economy + Mystery
Of 29 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 63 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 $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $690k, ×1112 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 63 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
| Top 25% | $8.8k (exactly $8,807) |
| Top 5% | $698k (exactly $698,342) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 46 |
| Announced | 63 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.00 |
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 285% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Mining
- Price point
- $5.00 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 24,053 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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
A Game About Digging A Hole™ 2025 · $2.8M 
The Spotter: Dig or Die 2026 · $698k 
Surviving the Abyss 2024 · $626k 
Meltopia 2026 · $352k 
Magical Delicacy 2024 · $180k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | A Game About Digging A Hole™ | $4.99 | 18,785 89% | 564k | $2.8M (exactly $2,812,114) | DoubleBee | |
| | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
| | Surviving the Abyss | $19.99 | 1,044 64% | 31k | $626k (exactly $626,087) | Rocket Flair Studios | |
| | Meltopia | $6.99 | 1,679 85% | 50k | $352k (exactly $352,086) | Garden of Dreams | |
| | Magical Delicacy | older | $24.99 | 240 77% | 7.2k | $180k (exactly $179,928) | Skaule |
 | The Succession of Changing Kings | $9.99 | 487 86% | 15k | $146k (exactly $145,954) | KwaKwaGames | |
 | Madorica Real Estate | older | $16.99 | 113 92% | 3.4k | $58k (exactly $57,596) | GIFT TEN INDUSTRY K.K. |
 | The Advisor - Episode 1: Royal Pain | older | $2.99 | 597 96% | 18k | $54k (exactly $53,551) | Randumb Studios |
 | CorpoNation: The Sorting Process | older | $12.99 | 117 71% | 3.5k | $46k (exactly $45,595) | Canteen |
 | Game Tycoon 2 | older | $7.99 | 127 37% | 3.8k | $30k (exactly $30,442) | Sunlight Games |
 | Grove Fisher | $4.99 | 98 67% | 2.9k | $15k (exactly $14,671) | EVIL CORP GAMES | |
 | The HELL | · EA | $9.99 | 30 73% | 900 | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) | METROPOLICE |
 | Orebits | $6.99 | 42 66% | 1.3k | $8.8k (exactly $8,807) | Upgraded Studio | |
 | Terraforming Titans | $5.00 | 58 94% | 1.7k | $8.7k (exactly $8,700) | terraforming.titans | |
 | Kibble Cats | $4.99 | 38 89% | 1.1k | $5.7k (exactly $5,689) | Vozmog |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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