Do I ship it?

GamesFishingFishing + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fishing Idler?

Fishing + Idler

Of 98 developers who shipped a Fishing 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.. 104 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×791 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 104 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 104 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Fishing + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 98
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $442k → $16k → $3.1k → $22k → $6.3k → $1.3k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Fishing + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 98
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 25% $35k (exactly $34,865)
Top 5% $376k (exactly $375,850)
Developers, 2 yr 98
Released games 141
Announced 104
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 down 80% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Fishing, Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Creature Collector, Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 27,519 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $34k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 5 in 10 of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 104 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FarmingFair31 devs · median $18k · 26 announced
  2. + AutomationFair40 devs · median $3.4k · 46 announced
  3. + IncrementalFair64 devs · median $1.8k · 87 announced
  4. + Score AttackFair11 devs · median $719 · 8 announced
  5. + ArcadeFair51 devs · median $716 · 64 announced
  6. + Co-opPoor odds39 devs · median $70k · 73 announced
  7. + RomancePoor odds14 devs · median $47k · 29 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds34 devs · median $36k · 85 announced
  9. + EconomyPoor odds49 devs · median $23k · 66 announced
  10. + CapitalismPoor odds15 devs · median $23k · 18 announced
  11. + AgriculturePoor odds48 devs · median $18k · 80 announced
  12. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $15k · 30 announced

All 77 pairs on the Fishing page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
Cast n Chill $14.99 8,383 94% 251k $3.8M (exactly $3,769,835) Wombat Brawler
Farm Together 2 $25.99 4,456 93% 134k $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) Milkstone Studios
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios
Aquarist older $15.99 950 81% 29k $456k (exactly $455,715) FreeMind S.A.
Fish to Dish: Idle Sushi $5.99 2,525 96% 76k $454k (exactly $453,742) Kygua Tech
Fish Game older $24.99 589 93% 18k $442k (exactly $441,573) A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink… (A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink Games)
Luna's Fishing Garden older $7.99 1,689 93% 51k $405k (exactly $404,853) Coldwild Games, illufinch
Fischer's Fishing Journey $7.99 1,568 91% 47k $376k (exactly $375,850) Cutefish
Fishing Inc $4.99 1,833 91% 55k $274k (exactly $274,400) BigBonk Studio
Cornerpond $2.99 2,567 97% 77k $230k (exactly $230,260) foolsroom
Tiny Terraces · EA $6.99 938 92% 28k $197k (exactly $196,699) VuVuu
My Little Life $5.99 1,043 89% 31k $187k (exactly $187,427) 9FingerGames
Lakeside Bar $5.99 820 86% 25k $147k (exactly $147,354) BITCOVER

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