Games › Exploration › Exploration + Farming
Should I ship a Farming Exploration game?
Exploration + Farming
Of 41 developers who shipped a Farming Exploration 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $24k, ×50 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $4.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.4M, ×5070 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 58 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $4.3k (exactly $4,316) |
|---|---|
| Median | $24k (exactly $23,706) |
| Top 25% | $127k (exactly $127,136) |
| Top 5% | $2.4M (exactly $2,408,432) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 89 |
| Announced | 58 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 110% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Farming
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Building, Crafting
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 51,738 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $4.4k. 6 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Job SimulatorPoor odds
Comparable games
Dinkum 2025 · $15M 
Len's Island 2025 · $4.4M 
HARVESTELLA 2022 · $3.7M 
Kynseed 2022 · $2.6M 
Solarpunk™ 2026 · $2.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dinkum | $19.99 | 24,641 92% | 739k | $15M (exactly $14,777,208) | James Bendon | |
| | Len's Island | $24.99 | 5,935 82% | 178k | $4.4M (exactly $4,449,470) | Flow Studio | |
| | HARVESTELLA | older | $59.99 | 2,071 77% | 62k | $3.7M (exactly $3,727,179) | Square Enix |
| | Kynseed | older | $24.99 | 3,513 83% | 105k | $2.6M (exactly $2,633,696) | PixelCount Studios |
| | Solarpunk™ | $22.99 | 3,492 81% | 105k | $2.4M (exactly $2,408,432) | Cyberwave | |
 | Aloft | · EA | $24.99 | 3,057 82% | 92k | $2.3M (exactly $2,291,833) | Astrolabe Interactive Inc. |
 | Go-Go Town! | $27.99 | 2,476 93% | 74k | $2.1M (exactly $2,079,097) | Prideful Sloth | |
 | Doloc Town | $19.99 | 3,166 94% | 95k | $1.9M (exactly $1,898,650) | RedSaw Games Studio | |
 | Mirthwood | $24.99 | 2,242 69% | 67k | $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827) | Bad Ridge Games | |
 | Outbound | $24.99 | 1,788 73% | 54k | $1.3M (exactly $1,340,464) | Square Glade Games | |
 | Old Market Simulator | $9.99 | 4,333 87% | 130k | $1.3M (exactly $1,298,600) | Alcedo Games | |
 | Backroom Company | $8.99 | 608 81% | 18k | $164k (exactly $163,978) | Hypercent Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.