Games › Mining › Mining + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Mining game?
Mining + Horror
Of 22 developers who shipped a Horror Mining 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.. 44 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $80k, ×169 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
| Top 25% | $9.0k (exactly $8,996) |
| Top 5% | $80k (exactly $80,496) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 30 |
| Announced | 44 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 50% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Mining; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 19,591 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Mining with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + TradingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + EconomyFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + NatureFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
Hidden Deep 2022 · EA · $3.2M 
A Game About Digging A Hole™ 2025 · $2.8M 
Anoxia Station 2025 · $80k 
The Black Ice 2025 · EA · $66k 
One Man´s Trash 2025 · $63k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hidden Deep | · EA older | $24.99 | 4,293 76% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) | Cogwheel Software |
| | A Game About Digging A Hole™ | $4.99 | 18,785 89% | 564k | $2.8M (exactly $2,812,114) | DoubleBee | |
| | Anoxia Station | $14.99 | 179 76% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Bonereaders | |
| | The Black Ice | · EA | $14.99 | 147 77% | 4.4k | $66k (exactly $66,106) | RED CRAB GAMES, Antelus Games |
| | One Man´s Trash | $6.85 | 308 84% | 9.2k | $63k (exactly $63,294) | Jony Pazu Games | |
 | DIG Raiders: Anomaly Extraction | $9.99 | 74 86% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $22,178) | Soda Game Studio | |
 | Odd Woods | · EA older | $10.99 | 39 71% | 1.2k | $13k (exactly $12,858) | Matt |
 | VOID CRAWLER | older | $3.99 | 82 87% | 2.5k | $9.8k (exactly $9,815) | Ricardo Pratas |
 | Fallen Angel: Hell Survival | $19.99 | 15 86% | 450 | $9.0k (exactly $8,996) | Strongfinger | |
 | Dig For Riches | $7.99 | 23 52% | 690 | $5.5k (exactly $5,513) | OxygenStudio | |
 | DOWNMOUSE | $3.99 | 25 92% | 750 | $3.0k (exactly $2,992) | WobblyHandStudio | |
 | Submeris | $4.99 | 19 57% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | OxygenStudio | |
 | Mine of my Mind | $3.99 | 16 81% | 480 | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) | Olymp Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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