Do I ship it?

Games › Idler › Idler + Farming

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Farming Idler?

Idler + Farming

Of 33 developers who shipped a Farming 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.. 25 more are announced.

Verdict: strong odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.9k, ×12 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 7 in 10 cleared $2.0k. Revenue is up 940% on the market; 25 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×1.1 per shipper.

Deciding numbers: median 12.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 940% on the market, 25 announced, ×1.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Idler + Farming
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.8k → $2.2k → $1.8k → $46k (still earning) → $5.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Idler + Farming: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Median $5.9k (exactly $5,920)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $26,846)
Top 5% $197k (exactly $196,699)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 47
Announced 25
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 940% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
Farming
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Idler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Farming Sim, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 12,514 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.1k, median $5.9k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $190k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.1k. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Idler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds10 devs · median $36k · 10 announced
  2. + Hack and SlashFair32 devs · median $6.4k · 50 announced
  3. + DrivingFair16 devs · median $5.5k · 18 announced
  4. + LootFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  5. + FPSFair22 devs · median $4.2k · 23 announced
  6. + Turn-Based CombatFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  7. + Turn-Based StrategyFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  8. + Dynamic NarrationFair16 devs · median $3.0k · 17 announced
  9. + Dark FantasyFair83 devs · median $2.9k · 128 announced
  10. + CapitalismFair205 devs · median $2.9k · 260 announced
  11. + SwordplayFair9 devs · median $2.7k · 4 announced
  12. + ModernFair45 devs · median $2.7k · 41 announced

All 177 pairs on the Idler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Rusty's Retirement 2024 · $2.9M The Farmer Was Replaced 2025 · $2.7M Farm Manager 2021 2021 · $1.4M Tiny Terraces 2025 · EA · $197k Plantera 2: Golden Acorn 2023 · $178k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rusty's Retirement older $6.99 13,902 96% 417k $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) Mister Morris Games
The Farmer Was Replaced $9.99 9,116 95% 273k $2.7M (exactly $2,732,065) Timon Herzog
Farm Manager 2021 older $19.99 2,296 79% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,376,911) Cleversan Games
Tiny Terraces · EA $6.99 938 92% 28k $197k (exactly $196,699) VuVuu
Plantera 2: Golden Acorn older $4.99 1,191 93% 36k $178k (exactly $178,293) VaragtP
MR FARMBOY $9.99 480 85% 14k $144k (exactly $143,856) mrdboy
Agrivore: Incremental Farming $6.99 494 70% 15k $104k (exactly $103,592) verty
Rocky Idle $9.99 308 83% 9.2k $92k (exactly $92,308) Rocky Games Studio
Garden In! older $9.99 306 85% 9.2k $92k (exactly $91,708) Dramatic Iceberg
Skeleseller $6.99 409 91% 12k $86k (exactly $85,767) Xtonomous
Game of Grass $6.99 275 84% 8.3k $58k (exactly $57,668) Hipsterdufus
Focus Grove $8.99 172 98% 5.2k $46k (exactly $46,388) Little Lantern
Slice the Crops! $5.49 163 80% 4.9k $27k (exactly $26,846) Wobblers Games
Chest Buster $4.99 159 92% 4.8k $24k (exactly $23,802) D-Pad

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