Do I ship it?

Games › Idler › Idler + Military

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Military Idler?

Idler + Military

Only 19 developers shipped a Military Idler in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Sir, We Have an Orc Problem, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $420. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 24 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 24 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Idler + Military
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $26k → $8.4k → $6.1k (still earning) → $2.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Idler + Military: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $418 (exactly $418)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,197)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,425)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 42
Announced 24
Effort 6 / 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 up 115% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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.

Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
Military
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Idler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Management, Simulation
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 5,390 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds10 devs · median $36k · 10 announced
  2. + FarmingStrong odds33 devs · median $5.9k · 25 announced
  3. + Hack and SlashFair32 devs · median $6.4k · 50 announced
  4. + DrivingFair16 devs · median $5.5k · 18 announced
  5. + LootFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  6. + FPSFair22 devs · median $4.2k · 23 announced
  7. + Turn-Based CombatFair52 devs · median $4.0k · 41 announced
  8. + Turn-Based StrategyFair50 devs · median $3.6k · 45 announced
  9. + Dynamic NarrationFair16 devs · median $3.0k · 17 announced
  10. + Dark FantasyFair83 devs · median $2.9k · 128 announced
  11. + CapitalismFair205 devs · median $2.9k · 260 announced
  12. + SwordplayFair9 devs · median $2.7k · 4 announced

All 177 pairs on the Idler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sir, We Have an Orc Problem 2026 · $1.2M Fantasy Map Simulator 2024 · EA · $1.0M Military Incremental Complex 2025 · $207k Long Dream 2023 · $202k Doom Sweeper 2024 · $117k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sir, We Have an Orc Problem $9.99 4,123 86% 124k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) Mumpitz Games
Fantasy Map Simulator · EA older $7.99 4,190 89% 126k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) The Stranger
Military Incremental Complex $9.99 692 82% 21k $207k (exactly $207,392) Space Kraken Studios
Long Dream older $6.99 962 98% 29k $202k (exactly $201,731) WildMonkey
Doom Sweeper older $4.99 782 72% 23k $117k (exactly $117,065) Paper Dog
Countryballs: Power Protocol $9.99 168 79% 5.0k $50k (exactly $50,350) KNK DEVELOP
希望之城 The City Of Hope older $6.99 126 68% 3.8k $26k (exactly $26,422) 家里蹲工作室
Riftborne · EA $7.99 108 91% 3.2k $26k (exactly $25,888) Pitio Productions
Hydra Heli $4.99 83 91% 2.5k $12k (exactly $12,425) Ideas Per Second
Battle Synth $4.99 56 92% 1.7k $8.4k (exactly $8,383) Cow Games
Hydra Heli 2 $6.99 30 80% 900 $6.3k (exactly $6,291) Ideas Per Second
Shoot The Barrels $1.99 103 72% 3.1k $6.1k (exactly $6,149) BATTLE LAB
Operation: Outbreak Idle $4.99 19 89% 570 $2.8k (exactly $2,844) DeadLogics
Cannon Clicker $5.99 8 75% 240 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Ritual Interactive

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