Do I ship it?

Games › Mining › Mining + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Idler?

Mining + Idler

Of 136 developers who shipped a Mining Idler 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.. 185 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×4.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $630. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 185 games are announced against 115 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 185 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 136
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $959 → $26k → $2.0k → $1.2k → $4.9k → $2.3k (still earning) → $3.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 136
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,274)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $18,568)
Top 5% $251k (exactly $250,801)
Developers, 2 yr 136
Released games 182
Announced 185
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 up 350% on the market, supply 400% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Mining
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Mining, Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Resource Management, Simulation
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 32,153 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 7 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 185 games are announced against 115 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Mining with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FarmingStrong odds18 devs · median $22k · 15 announced
  2. + TradingFair32 devs · median $12k · 33 announced
  3. + DwarvesFair17 devs · median $9.6k · 26 announced
  4. + Tower DefenseFair33 devs · median $6.3k · 45 announced
  5. + EconomyFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  6. + AutomationFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  7. + Turn-Based StrategyFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  9. + NatureFair42 devs · median $2.4k · 49 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  11. + CollectathonFair63 devs · median $2.1k · 53 announced
  12. + Point & ClickFair36 devs · median $1.9k · 39 announced

All 91 pairs on the Mining page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Melvor Idle 2021 · $4.4M (the) Gnorp Apologue 2023 · $2.0M Keep on Mining! 2025 · $1.2M To The Core 2023 · $1.2M A Game About Feeding A Black Hole 2025 · $727k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
(the) Gnorp Apologue older $6.99 9,613 94% 288k $2.0M (exactly $2,015,846) Myco
Keep on Mining! $4.99 8,300 93% 249k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510) EagleEye Games
To The Core older $7.99 5,087 92% 153k $1.2M (exactly $1,219,354) SomethingExtra
A Game About Feeding A Black Hole $6.99 3,467 88% 104k $727k (exactly $727,030) Aarimous, Thornity
Digseum $2.99 8,033 97% 241k $721k (exactly $720,560) Rat Monthly
Space Rock Breaker $2.99 4,671 96% 140k $419k (exactly $418,989) WAKA WAKA
Keep on Mining! - Worlds $6.99 1,899 80% 57k $398k (exactly $398,220) EagleEye Games
Galactic Mining Corp older $12.99 868 84% 26k $338k (exactly $338,260) Windybeard
Dwarf Eats Mountain $9.99 1,114 80% 33k $334k (exactly $333,866) Green Wizard
Sludgineers $6.99 1,579 87% 47k $331k (exactly $331,116) Snickerdoodle Games, Funk Games
Fracture Field $6.99 1,196 75% 36k $251k (exactly $250,801) Type Ten
The Last Cat in the Universe $6.99 1,153 95% 35k $242k (exactly $241,784) Apamate Studio, Diora
Hole Is Mine $7.99 741 90% 22k $178k (exactly $177,618) Incrementalist

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