Do I ship it?

Games › Exploration › Exploration + Solitaire

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Exploration Solitaire game?

Exploration + Solitaire

Of 29 developers who shipped an Exploration Solitaire 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $200 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 15 developers shipped in the last year and 35 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 855% on the market, 35 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Exploration + Solitaire
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $896 → $748 → $1.2k → $90 → $90 → $479 → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Exploration + Solitaire: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $200 (exactly $200)
Top 25% $2.6k (exactly $2,601)
Top 5% $92k (exactly $92,284)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 89
Announced 35
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 855% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Exploration
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Solitaire
effort 1 / 10 · high · fixed rules, cards and a table

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Exploration, Solitaire; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Card Game, Puzzle
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 34% positive over 22,848 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $200, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $92k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. All of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Exploration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair22 devs · median $8.1k · 26 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair31 devs · median $6.7k · 42 announced
  3. + SpaceshipsFair22 devs · median $3.5k · 28 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair122 devs · median $2.2k · 109 announced
  5. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 24 announced
  6. + WuxiaPoor odds12 devs · median $192k · 35 announced
  7. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds23 devs · median $82k · 61 announced
  8. + Martial ArtsPoor odds25 devs · median $69k · 90 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds146 devs · median $58k · 354 announced
  10. + MMORPGPoor odds24 devs · median $52k · 213 announced
  11. + FMVPoor odds45 devs · median $27k · 76 announced
  12. + FarmingPoor odds41 devs · median $24k · 58 announced

All 258 pairs on the Exploration page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BidKing 2026 · $2.0M Tested on Humans: Escape Room 2021 · $130k Factory Planner 2026 · EA · $92k FreeCell Quest 2015 · $83k Solitaire Christmas. Match 2 Cards 2015 · $40k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BidKing $2.99 22,238 33% 667k $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) MindSurge Network & Games
Tested on Humans: Escape Room older $9.99 434 87% 13k $130k (exactly $130,070) mc2games
Factory Planner · EA $7.99 385 70% 12k $92k (exactly $92,284) Lebleby Games
FreeCell Quest older $9.99 278 81% 8.3k $83k (exactly $83,317) Legend Studio
Solitaire Christmas. Match 2 Cards older $14.99 88 72% 2.6k $40k (exactly $39,574) Creobit
Lenin - The Lion older $11.99 102 90% 3.1k $37k (exactly $36,689) Lornyon
Faerie Solitaire Dire · EA older $19.99 41 68% 1.2k $25k (exactly $24,588) Subsoap
Deca older $18.99 43 83% 1.3k $24k (exactly $24,497) Chrome Horizon 3D
Lianhai Casino older $8.99 81 91% 2.4k $22k (exactly $21,846) 致意
Myha: Return to the Lost Island older $14.99 45 75% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) Denis Martin, Simon Says: Play!
Dark Atlas: Infernum $14.99 39 82% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,538) Night Council Studio
Decks of the Damned $9.99 54 68% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) Thorian Games
Myth Monkey Card $5.99 62 100% 1.9k $11k (exactly $11,141) Myth Card Studio
No Vacancy Tonight $8.99 24 100% 720 $6.5k (exactly $6,473) Momiji Games
Seven Seas Jewels 2 Collector's Edition $15.99 6 100% 180 $2.9k (exactly $2,878) Anawiki Games
Forest 6174 $2.99 29 82% 870 $2.6k (exactly $2,601) itandfeel
Mahjong Expedition $8.99 4 75% 120 $1.1k (exactly $1,079) COSO
Find The Flaw $4.99 7 71% 210 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) XSGames

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