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Should I ship an Exploration Shop Keeper?
Exploration + Shop Keeper
Of 51 developers who shipped an Exploration Shop Keeper 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.. 143 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.9M, ×4199 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 143 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.5k (exactly $1,455) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) |
| Top 25% | $80k (exactly $79,720) |
| Top 5% | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 51 |
| Released games | 59 |
| Announced | 143 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 365% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, 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
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration, Shop Keeper; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Life Sim, Simulation, Management
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 55% positive over 39,372 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 4 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 143 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault 2026 · $2.8M 
School Days 2026 · $2.7M 
BidKing 2026 · $2.0M 
Saleblazers 2023 · EA · $1.8M 
Teddy's Haven 2025 · EA · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault | $29.99 | 3,146 80% | 94k | $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) | Digital Sun | |
| | School Days | $14.99 | 6,023 77% | 181k | $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) | 白雨工作室 | |
| | BidKing | $2.99 | 22,238 33% | 667k | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) | MindSurge Network & Games | |
| | Saleblazers | · EA older | $29.99 | 1,974 78% | 59k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) | AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE |
| | Teddy's Haven | · EA | $14.99 | 2,800 95% | 84k | $1.3M (exactly $1,259,160) | Teddy Bear Games LLC |
 | Chop Chop Inc. | $12.99 | 1,258 90% | 38k | $490k (exactly $490,243) | NullRef Entertainment | |
 | Saloon Simulator | · EA | $18.99 | 860 89% | 26k | $490k (exactly $489,942) | Glivi Games S.A. |
 | Fell & Sell | $9.99 | 1,428 84% | 43k | $428k (exactly $427,972) | Art Games Studio S.A. | |
 | Rise of Gun | older | $12.99 | 1,094 84% | 33k | $426k (exactly $426,332) | PimpGameStudio |
 | Fuel Harvest Together | $13.99 | 879 69% | 26k | $369k (exactly $368,916) | Say2Sun | |
 | A Merchant's Promise | · EA | $14.99 | 300 86% | 9.0k | $135k (exactly $134,910) | Game Draft Studio |
 | Wasteland Bites | $9.99 | 440 93% | 13k | $132k (exactly $131,868) | CosmicDev |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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