Do I ship it?

Games › Economy › Economy + Perma Death

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Perma Death Economy game?

Economy + Perma Death

Of 22 developers who shipped a Perma Death 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.. 37 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $94k, ×151 the market median. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 37 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 37 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Perma Death
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.0k → $839 → $1.3k → $299 (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Perma Death: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,597)
Top 5% $95k (exactly $94,753)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 52
Announced 37
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 100% on the market, supply 350% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Perma Death
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Economy, Perma Death; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Management, Simulation
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 1,605 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $540, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $94k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 37 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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

Age of Wonders: Planetfall 2019 · $4.3M Star Traders: Frontiers 2018 · $1.7M Soulash 2 2023 · EA · $1.4M Coal LLC 2025 · $604k Fracture Point 2026 · $95k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Age of Wonders: Planetfall older $29.99 4,758 80% 143k $4.3M (exactly $4,280,773) Triumph Studios
Star Traders: Frontiers older $14.99 3,672 83% 110k $1.7M (exactly $1,651,298) Trese Brothers
Soulash 2 · EA older $18.99 2,382 85% 71k $1.4M (exactly $1,357,025) Artur Smiarowski
Coal LLC $14.99 1,343 92% 40k $604k (exactly $603,947) Bye Bye Ocean
Fracture Point $19.99 158 81% 4.7k $95k (exactly $94,753) Kyrylo Burlaka
Clicker Arena older $8.99 97 51% 2.9k $26k (exactly $26,161) James Sun
Portobugia older $7.99 84 83% 2.5k $20k (exactly $20,135) Bogland Studio
Cocaine Dealer · EA older $3.99 109 80% 3.3k $13k (exactly $13,047) Stone/Spark Games
Desolation Tycoon older $11.99 28 85% 840 $10k (exactly $10,072) Iron Boar Labs Ltd.
One King Is Enough $10.99 27 77% 810 $8.9k (exactly $8,902) INVISIBLE GAMES
Null Hørizøn $9.99 27 85% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) HopefullyHeroic
Faster Bunnies $9.99 13 100% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Triple Cerberus Studios
TradingLife · EA $11.99 10 100% 300 $3.6k (exactly $3,597) Fun(ctor) Studio
GG Life · EA $14.99 4 50% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) AfterGlow Games
Loop My Crank $2.99 14 42% 420 $1.3k (exactly $1,256) GameRoom3 Studio
Blosharper: Battle of Blossoms · EA $4.99 7 71% 210 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) Joon x Jin Works
Second Chance at a Billion $10.00 2 50% 60 $600 (exactly $600) ElderYew

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