Games › Exploration › Exploration + Idler
Should I ship an Exploration Idler?
Exploration + Idler
Of 157 developers who shipped an Exploration Idler 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.. 246 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×4.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×386 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 246 games are announced against 95 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.0k (exactly $2,035) |
| Top 25% | $8.1k (exactly $8,091) |
| Top 5% | $183k (exactly $183,380) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 157 |
| Released games | 367 |
| Announced | 246 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 up 45% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, 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
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Adventure, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 22,870 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 74 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 246 games are announced against 95 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different second tag, 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
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
THE LONGING 2020 · $3.1M 
Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim 2025 · $2.2M 
BitCraft Online 2025 · EA · $1.6M 
Digseum 2024 · $721k 
Horripilant 2026 · $702k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | THE LONGING | older | $14.99 | 6,977 92% | 209k | $3.1M (exactly $3,137,557) | Studio Seufz |
| | Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim | $24.90 | 2,938 77% | 88k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,686) | Rockbee Team | |
| | BitCraft Online | · EA | $15.99 | 3,334 72% | 100k | $1.6M (exactly $1,599,320) | Clockwork Laboratories, Inc. |
| | Digseum | $2.99 | 8,033 97% | 241k | $721k (exactly $720,560) | Rat Monthly | |
| | Horripilant | $7.99 | 2,928 92% | 88k | $702k (exactly $701,842) | Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio | |
 | Galactic Mining Corp | older | $12.99 | 868 84% | 26k | $338k (exactly $338,260) | Windybeard |
 | All Hail the Orb | $6.99 | 1,291 93% | 39k | $271k (exactly $270,723) | LeGingerDev | |
 | Stuck In Time | older | $7.99 | 1,018 84% | 31k | $244k (exactly $244,015) | Housemade Inc. |
 | Asbury Pines | · EA | $12.99 | 558 90% | 17k | $217k (exactly $217,453) | Chaystar Unlimited LLC |
 | Another Try 2 | · EA | $6.99 | 1,000 53% | 30k | $210k (exactly $209,700) | Hoki Wolf Studio |
 | Stone Simulator – Just Be a Rock | $3.99 | 1,532 94% | 46k | $183k (exactly $183,380) | STFGames | |
 | Desktop Raid | $8.99 | 672 76% | 20k | $181k (exactly $181,238) | Lee_Studio | |
 | Coin Push RPG | $9.99 | 584 76% | 18k | $175k (exactly $175,025) | RAmen |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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