Do I ship it?

GamesLogicLogic + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Logic game?

Logic + Hacking

Of 60 developers who shipped a Hacking Logic 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.. 67 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×5.4 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $480. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 67 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 67 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Logic + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 60
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $60k → $4.5k → $1.7k → $2.7k → $2.5k → $1.6k (still earning) → $4.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Logic + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 60
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 25% $9.4k (exactly $9,444)
Top 5% $76k (exactly $76,098)
Developers, 2 yr 60
Released games 145
Announced 67
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.99

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 70% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Logic
effort 2 / 10 · high · deductive rules and grids
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
Logic; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Programming, Puzzle, Simulation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,465 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $9.4k, 1 in 20 over $76k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 67 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + LovecraftianFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 19 announced
  2. + City BuilderFair58 devs · median $3.3k · 74 announced
  3. + NoirFair42 devs · median $2.7k · 59 announced
  4. + VampiresFair12 devs · median $2.4k · 14 announced
  5. + DragonsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 8 announced
  6. + Escape RoomFair54 devs · median $2.1k · 44 announced
  7. + Bullet TimeFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  8. + Inventory ManagementFair70 devs · median $1.7k · 74 announced
  9. + TransportationFair29 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  10. + Automobile SimFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  11. + CookingFair27 devs · median $1.6k · 26 announced
  12. + Visual NovelFair114 devs · median $1.6k · 135 announced

All 200 pairs on the Logic page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hacknet older $9.99 16,910 93% 507k $5.1M (exactly $5,067,927) Team Fractal Alligator
Turing Complete · EA older $19.99 5,520 95% 166k $3.3M (exactly $3,310,344) LevelHead
SHENZHEN I/O older $14.99 3,746 95% 112k $1.7M (exactly $1,684,576) Zachtronics
Grey Hack · EA older $19.99 1,801 90% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,080,060) Loading Home
CaseCracker older $9.99 3,314 89% 99k $993k (exactly $993,206) BlackRobe
EXAPUNKS older $19.99 1,378 96% 41k $826k (exactly $826,387) Zachtronics
TIS-100 older $6.99 3,391 97% 102k $711k (exactly $711,093) Zachtronics
The Signal State older $19.99 649 86% 19k $389k (exactly $389,205) Reckoner Industries
Nancy Drew®: Mystery of the Seven Keys™ older $32.00 318 56% 9.5k $305k (exactly $305,280) HeR Interactive
Retro Gadgets · EA older $19.99 470 89% 14k $282k (exactly $281,859) Licorice ehf, Studio Evil
JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator $17.99 378 76% 11k $204k (exactly $204,007) Prof. Scherer
Net.Attack() - Code or Die! $7.99 510 80% 15k $122k (exactly $122,247) ByteRockers' Games
Quantum Odyssey · EA $17.99 141 92% 4.2k $76k (exactly $76,098) Quarks Interactive
868-BACK $19.99 122 98% 3.7k $73k (exactly $73,163) Michael Brough
Hard Chip · EA $14.99 68 91% 2.0k $31k (exactly $30,580) Elorth
Cyber Warrior $19.99 39 84% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Dunke Games
Mnemonimov · EA $19.99 32 100% 960 $19k (exactly $19,190) Reverie Foundry
Fixer Undercover $17.99 34 91% 1.0k $18k (exactly $18,350) Creativity AR
Hacky $4.99 95 93% 2.9k $14k (exactly $14,222) Cuddle Code
NET.CRAWL $9.99 46 95% 1.4k $14k (exactly $13,786) Everyone is Solid

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