Do I ship it?

GamesEconomyEconomy + Quick-Time Events

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Economy game?

Economy + Quick-Time Events

Of 20 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events 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.. 15 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $480k, ×773 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 15 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 15 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Quick-Time Events
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $31k → $450 → $4.3k → $718 (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Quick-Time Events: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $718 (exactly $718)
Top 25% $6.9k (exactly $6,920)
Top 5% $486k (exactly $485,665)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 27
Announced 15
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 down 75% on the market, supply 20% 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
Quick-Time Events
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, Quick-Time Events; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Resource Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Colorful, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 5,953 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $720, 1 in 4 over $6.9k, 1 in 20 over $480k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

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
Thriving City: Song older $18.99 3,054 81% 92k $1.7M (exactly $1,739,864) White Star Studio
Lost But Found $6.99 2,316 71% 69k $486k (exactly $485,665) Rogue Duck Interactive
Cornerpond $2.99 2,567 97% 77k $230k (exactly $230,260) foolsroom
Bugtopia $5.99 866 92% 26k $156k (exactly $155,620) Nocturnal Games
Dollar older $0.99 1,051 79% 32k $31k (exactly $31,215) DollarDev
Randoville · EA older $14.99 63 63% 1.9k $28k (exactly $28,331) AVE Team
Portobugia older $7.99 84 83% 2.5k $20k (exactly $20,135) Bogland Studio
Mini City: Mayhem $5.99 64 81% 1.9k $12k (exactly $11,501) Rogue Duck Interactive, cukuto
Crypto Trading Simulator · EA $6.99 33 75% 990 $6.9k (exactly $6,920) SUMER
Sin Slayers: Meat & Greed $2.99 55 52% 1.7k $4.9k (exactly $4,934) Goonswarm Games
Hydro $8.99 16 100% 480 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Harman Motor Works
I Can Only Speak Doner $4.99 16 87% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Fokaia Studio
Fomo-trading $4.99 12 25% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) 明夜
Popup.exe $2.99 8 87% 240 $718 (exactly $718) Monu

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