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.
| 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.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Logic with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LovecraftianFair
- + City BuilderFair
- + NoirFair
- + HackingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DragonsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Bullet TimeFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + TransportationFair
- + Automobile SimFair
- + CookingFair
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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