Games › Incremental › Incremental + Fantasy
Should I ship a Fantasy Incremental game?
Incremental + Fantasy
Of 364 developers who shipped a Fantasy Incremental 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.. 519 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×382 the market median. Revenue is up 305% on the market; 519 games are announced against 250 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) |
| Top 25% | $8.7k (exactly $8,738) |
| Top 5% | $181k (exactly $181,238) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 364 |
| Released games | 870 |
| Announced | 519 |
| 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 305% on the market, supply 105% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Incremental
- effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
- Fantasy
- 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
- Incremental; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Simulation, RPG
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 31,118 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 166 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 519 games are announced against 250 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Incremental with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + OtomeStrong odds
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + MiningFair
- + Souls-likeFair
- + Arena ShooterFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + UndergroundFair
- + LootFair
- + SupernaturalFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Book of Demons | older | $24.99 | 8,010 91% | 240k | $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) | Thing Trunk |
| | Dragon Cliff | older | $9.99 | 7,679 88% | 230k | $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) | Meta Interaction |
| | Sir, We Have an Orc Problem | $9.99 | 4,123 86% | 124k | $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) | Mumpitz Games | |
| | Swag and Sorcery | older | $12.99 | 2,318 54% | 70k | $903k (exactly $903,325) | Lazy Bear Games, Uroboros Games |
| | Fortune Mill | $7.99 | 3,712 81% | 111k | $890k (exactly $889,766) | Lavaflame2 | |
| | Hero of the Kingdom | older | $7.99 | 3,574 94% | 107k | $857k (exactly $856,688) | Lonely Troops |
| | Tower Wizard | $2.99 | 8,787 96% | 264k | $788k (exactly $788,194) | Barribob | |
| | Cauldron | $14.99 | 1,678 92% | 50k | $755k (exactly $754,597) | SleepyDad Games | |
| | Doors: Paradox | older | $14.99 | 1,579 91% | 47k | $710k (exactly $710,076) | Big Loop Studios |
| | Crusaders Quest : Hero Town | $6.99 | 2,564 76% | 77k | $538k (exactly $537,671) | CQ LABS | |
| | Chef Knight | $5.99 | 2,433 94% | 73k | $437k (exactly $437,210) | Clover Bite | |
| | xiuzhen idle | $5.99 | 2,313 79% | 69k | $416k (exactly $415,646) | 游戏养家工作室 | |
| | Handyman Fantasy | $7.99 | 1,607 95% | 48k | $385k (exactly $385,198) | SupaShinKen Studio | |
| | Click Mage | $4.99 | 2,529 91% | 76k | $379k (exactly $378,591) | Tiny Crow Games | |
| | Loot of Baal | $8.99 | 1,372 62% | 41k | $370k (exactly $370,028) | Gleamer Studio |
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.