Do I ship it?

Games › Idler › Idler + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Idler?

Idler + Hacking

Of 29 developers who shipped a Hacking 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.. 27 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×211 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 27 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 27 announced, ×1.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Idler + Hacking
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: $34k → $14k → $748 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Idler + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,915)
Top 25% $7.0k (exactly $7,008)
Top 5% $100k (exactly $100,093)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 40
Announced 27
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 90% on the market, supply 525% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
Hacking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Incremental, Strategy
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.49 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Minimalist, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.49 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 4,045 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $7.0k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 27 games are announced against 25 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. + FarmingStrong odds33 devs · median $5.9k · 25 announced
  3. + Hack and SlashFair32 devs · median $6.4k · 50 announced
  4. + DrivingFair16 devs · median $5.5k · 18 announced
  5. + LootFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  6. + FPSFair22 devs · median $4.2k · 23 announced
  7. + Turn-Based CombatFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  8. + Turn-Based StrategyFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair16 devs · median $3.0k · 17 announced
  10. + Dark FantasyFair83 devs · median $2.9k · 128 announced
  11. + CapitalismFair205 devs · median $2.9k · 260 announced
  12. + SwordplayFair9 devs · median $2.7k · 4 announced

All 177 pairs on the Idler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Nodebuster 2024 · $1.2M Desktop Defender 2025 · $263k Crypto Mining Simulator 2021 · $212k FEED THE AI 2026 · $100k Minutescape 2025 · $98k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Nodebuster older $2.99 13,852 97% 416k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,524) Goblobin
Desktop Defender $4.99 1,757 92% 53k $263k (exactly $263,023) Conradical Games
Crypto Mining Simulator older $4.99 1,419 65% 43k $212k (exactly $212,424) Satosha Nakamoti
FEED THE AI $5.99 557 90% 17k $100k (exactly $100,093) Weird Kid Games
Minutescape $5.99 546 74% 16k $98k (exactly $98,116) Molter
DEFRAG $2.99 534 93% 16k $48k (exactly $47,900) BlueDot Studio
AI Learns To Drive $7.49 208 95% 6.2k $47k (exactly $46,738) ActivationFunction
Infiniclick $7.99 140 72% 4.2k $34k (exactly $33,558) Nacho AB
Xenosensory $2.99 161 93% 4.8k $14k (exactly $14,442) caiys
Games Tycoon $5.99 39 53% 1.2k $7.0k (exactly $7,008) Insignis Games
Bytecollector $1.99 76 80% 2.3k $4.5k (exactly $4,537) TheTallLeaf
DEBRISVERSE $3.99 27 92% 810 $3.2k (exactly $3,232) Studio RELIER

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