Do I ship it?

GamesLogicLogic + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Logic game?

Logic + Idler

Of 65 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 77 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 40 developers shipped in the last year and 77 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 77 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Logic + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 65
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $599 → $2.1k → $478 → $300 → $538 → $356 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Logic + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 65
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $1.7k (exactly $1,678)
Top 5% $55k (exactly $54,845)
Developers, 2 yr 65
Released games 208
Announced 77
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 100% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Logic, Idler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Puzzle, Strategy
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Minimalist, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 10,354 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $450, 1 in 4 over $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $54k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 77 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Logic with a different second tag, 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. + HackingFair60 devs · median $2.5k · 67 announced
  5. + VampiresFair12 devs · median $2.4k · 14 announced
  6. + DragonsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 8 announced
  7. + Escape RoomFair54 devs · median $2.1k · 44 announced
  8. + Bullet TimeFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  9. + Inventory ManagementFair70 devs · median $1.7k · 74 announced
  10. + TransportationFair29 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  11. + Automobile SimFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + CookingFair27 devs · median $1.6k · 26 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
The Farmer Was Replaced $9.99 9,116 95% 273k $2.7M (exactly $2,732,065) Timon Herzog
Fly Corp older $14.99 3,112 85% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,399,466) KishMish Games
Stone Story RPG older $29.99 893 90% 27k $803k (exactly $803,432) Rex Games, standardcombo
Beltmatic older $6.99 2,199 94% 66k $461k (exactly $461,130) Notional Games
Haydee 3 $29.99 321 84% 9.6k $289k (exactly $288,804) Haydee Interactive
Microcosmum: survival of cells older $7.99 1,117 80% 34k $268k (exactly $267,745) Satur Entertainment
LOLLIPOP! older $4.99 1,318 75% 40k $197k (exactly $197,305) 430Games, __Ja__ga__imo__
I'm on Observation Duty 7 $11.99 426 93% 13k $153k (exactly $153,232) Notovia, Dreamloop Games
Joyville older $9.99 331 69% 9.9k $99k (exactly $99,201) KudPlay Games
Scratch the Ticket $9.99 183 44% 5.5k $55k (exactly $54,845) Shilenok
Node Math $6.99 86 75% 2.6k $18k (exactly $18,034) ByerN
Parking in Tight Spaces $9.99 40 77% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,988) Hungry Devs
SysAdmin Odyssey - Back to the office · EA $8.30 40 75% 1.2k $10k (exactly $9,960) Molodoy-GameDev
Yet Another Incremental Game (but this time about coding) · EA $7.99 39 71% 1.2k $9.3k (exactly $9,348) Raclette Games
Schematic Void $8.99 31 70% 930 $8.4k (exactly $8,361) Meowton Games
ParryMaster $2.99 72 75% 2.2k $6.5k (exactly $6,458) GOGOIO Games

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