Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Hacking

Of 22 developers who shipped a Hacking Resource 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.. 35 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $960, ×2.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $47k, ×101 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 35 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 35 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $48k → $358 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $955 (exactly $955)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,967)
Top 5% $48k (exactly $47,900)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 35
Announced 35
Effort 4 / 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 100% on the market, supply 535% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Idler
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, First-Person, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 1,434 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $960, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $47k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 35 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

USAC: Code Breach 2022 · $480k ServiceIT: You can do IT 2025 · $263k 4th Generation Warfare 2022 · $116k DEFRAG 2025 · $48k Infiniclick 2025 · $34k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
USAC: Code Breach older $14.99 1,067 91% 32k $480k (exactly $479,830) Questions Factory
ServiceIT: You can do IT $12.99 676 56% 20k $263k (exactly $263,437) picture4u
4th Generation Warfare older $29.99 129 59% 3.9k $116k (exactly $116,061) Eversim
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
Games Tycoon $5.99 39 53% 1.2k $7.0k (exactly $7,008) Insignis Games
Operation Deep Magic: Cryptanalysis older $49.99 4 25% 120 $6.0k (exactly $5,999) 1013133 Simulations
Hackshot older $11.99 12 91% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,316) RD Interactive
EchoLink: Recursion $6.99 15 66% 450 $3.1k (exactly $3,146) Detonation Zone Interactive
Cyberfuck 2067 $10.99 9 44% 270 $3.0k (exactly $2,967) Shinka AI Studio
Turnout $5.99 10 100% 300 $1.8k (exactly $1,797) eevoe
137 · EA $21.37 2 100% 60 $1.3k (exactly $1,282) Ruby the Shark
Cloud Server Simulator · EA $9.99 4 25% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Realityocean Games
ZIRQUITZ $6.99 5 60% 150 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) Surrogate of Sorrow

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