Do I ship it?

Games › Management › Management + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Management game?

Management + Hacking

Of 26 developers who shipped a Hacking Management 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.. 59 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $47k, ×76 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 59 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 59 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $5.8k → $748 (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,512)
Top 25% $7.0k (exactly $7,008)
Top 5% $48k (exactly $47,900)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 47
Announced 59
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 85% on the market, supply 665% 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.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Sandbox, Economy
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $22.00 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $22.00 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,733 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $7.0k, 1 in 20 over $47k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 59 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Internet Cafe Simulator 2 2022 · $7.4M Internet Cafe Simulator 2019 · $2.6M Nodebuster 2024 · $1.2M Counter Terrorist Agency 2019 · $287k ServiceIT: You can do IT 2025 · $263k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Internet Cafe Simulator 2 older $19.99 12,299 74% 369k $7.4M (exactly $7,375,710) Cheesecake Dev
Internet Cafe Simulator older $9.99 8,729 75% 262k $2.6M (exactly $2,616,081) Cheesecake Dev
Nodebuster older $2.99 13,852 97% 416k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,524) Goblobin
Counter Terrorist Agency older $19.99 479 43% 14k $287k (exactly $287,256) Play2Chill
ServiceIT: You can do IT $12.99 676 56% 20k $263k (exactly $263,437) picture4u
Tech Support: Error Unknown older $9.99 591 73% 18k $177k (exactly $177,123) Dragon Slumber
GameDev Life Simulator 🎮🕹 older $19.99 144 59% 4.3k $86k (exactly $86,357) Octo Games studio
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
Deadnaut older $9.99 128 67% 3.8k $38k (exactly $38,362) Screwfly Studios
Web Host Simulator · EA $24.99 42 26% 1.3k $31k (exactly $31,487) Chibum
Xenosensory $2.99 161 93% 4.8k $14k (exactly $14,442) caiys
Data Center Simulator Game · EA $22.00 11 9% 330 $7.3k (exactly $7,260) DC Uplink
Games Tycoon $5.99 39 53% 1.2k $7.0k (exactly $7,008) Insignis Games
Torrent Empire $7.99 24 62% 720 $5.8k (exactly $5,753) Steel Games
AI is Home - Survival Thriller $7.99 23 60% 690 $5.5k (exactly $5,513) pressanykey
EchoLink: Recursion $6.99 15 66% 450 $3.1k (exactly $3,146) Detonation Zone Interactive

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