Do I ship it?

Games › Incremental › Incremental + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Incremental game?

Incremental + Hacking

Of 32 developers who shipped a Hacking 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.. 31 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $990; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×554 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 31 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 31 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $34k → $14k → $1.6k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Incremental + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $987 (exactly $987)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,695)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $14,442)
Top 5% $263k (exactly $263,023)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 49
Announced 31
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 55% on the market, supply 255% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
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
Incremental; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Idler, Strategy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Minimalist, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 9,040 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $990, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $990. 5 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds15 devs · median $11k · 12 announced
  2. + OtomeStrong odds12 devs · median $7.0k · 11 announced
  3. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $6.1k · 15 announced
  4. + FarmingFair21 devs · median $5.9k · 23 announced
  5. + Dynamic NarrationFair19 devs · median $4.0k · 14 announced
  6. + MiningFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair15 devs · median $3.5k · 20 announced
  9. + Dating SimFair140 devs · median $3.1k · 136 announced
  10. + UndergroundFair27 devs · median $3.0k · 35 announced
  11. + LootFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  12. + SupernaturalFair33 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced

All 188 pairs on the Incremental page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator 2025 · $2.0M Nodebuster 2024 · $1.2M Polda 7 2022 · $268k Desktop Defender 2025 · $263k Vtuber Hack 2026 · $137k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator $12.99 5,191 92% 156k $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) Aluba Van+
Nodebuster older $2.99 13,852 97% 416k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,524) Goblobin
Polda 7 older $17.99 496 92% 15k $268k (exactly $267,691) Zima software
Desktop Defender $4.99 1,757 92% 53k $263k (exactly $263,023) Conradical Games
Vtuber Hack $54.99 83 74% 2.5k $137k (exactly $136,925) ベルゼブブ
Malware older $2.99 1,141 87% 34k $102k (exactly $102,348) Odd Games
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
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
Saku the Covert Agent $6.99 37 83% 1.1k $7.8k (exactly $7,759) Forward, 78Games
GAME.exe 2 - Phantom Strike $5.99 34 76% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) Punx Studios

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