Games › Economy › Economy + Science
Should I ship a Science Economy game?
Economy + Science
Of 39 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 39 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.9k, ×9.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $420. Revenue is up 655% on the market; 39 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.9k (exactly $5,872) |
| Top 25% | $40k (exactly $39,734) |
| Top 5% | $295k (exactly $294,632) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 39 |
| Released games | 75 |
| Announced | 39 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 655% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Strategy, Building
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 8,010 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
Comparable games
Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game 2015 · EA · $15M 
Eco 2018 · EA · $10M 
Prehistoric Kingdom 2022 · EA · $5.1M 
SpaceBourne 2 2025 · $3.0M 
InfraSpace 2023 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game | · EA older | $29.99 | 16,815 93% | 504k | $15M (exactly $15,128,456) | Camshaft Software Ltd |
| | Eco | · EA older | $29.99 | 11,375 80% | 341k | $10M (exactly $10,234,088) | Strange Loop Games |
| | Prehistoric Kingdom | · EA older | $29.99 | 5,640 90% | 169k | $5.1M (exactly $5,074,308) | Blue Meridian |
| | SpaceBourne 2 | $19.99 | 4,951 75% | 149k | $3.0M (exactly $2,969,115) | Burak Dabak | |
| | InfraSpace | older | $24.99 | 1,638 82% | 49k | $1.2M (exactly $1,228,009) | Dionic Software |
 | Slipways | older | $16.99 | 2,233 93% | 67k | $1.1M (exactly $1,138,160) | Beetlewing |
 | Imagine Earth | older | $24.99 | 810 79% | 24k | $607k (exactly $607,257) | Serious Bros. |
 | Interstellar Transport Company | older | $24.99 | 395 65% | 12k | $296k (exactly $296,132) | MT Worlds |
 | Zombie Cure Lab | $24.99 | 393 65% | 12k | $295k (exactly $294,632) | Thera Bytes GmbH | |
 | Data Center | $8.99 | 916 76% | 27k | $247k (exactly $247,045) | Waseku | |
 | Monster Lab Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 505 70% | 15k | $197k (exactly $196,798) | Round 3 Studios |
 | Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond | $24.99 | 253 39% | 7.6k | $190k (exactly $189,674) | Jujubee | |
 | Learning Factory | $14.99 | 390 84% | 12k | $175k (exactly $175,383) | Luden.io | |
 | MegaFactory Titan | $19.99 | 150 76% | 4.5k | $90k (exactly $89,955) | Q Switched Productions, LLC | |
 | Space Architect | $9.99 | 294 73% | 8.8k | $88k (exactly $88,112) | Albert Wiatr | |
 | Screeps: Arena | $19.99 | 105 82% | 3.2k | $63k (exactly $62,968) | Screeps, LLC | |
 | Possible One: Lunar Industries | · EA | $24.99 | 53 64% | 1.6k | $40k (exactly $39,734) | Upstairs Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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