Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Idler

Of 656 developers who shipped an Idler Resource Management 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.. 979 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $480. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 979 games are announced against 522 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 979 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 656
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.3k → $5.3k → $12k → $1.1k → $1.8k → $1.9k → $2.8k (still earning) → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 656
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,220)
Top 5% $246k (exactly $245,956)
Developers, 2 yr 656
Released games 1,036
Announced 979
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 100% on the market, supply 260% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Resource Management
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
Resource Management, Idler; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Simulation, Management
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 94% positive over 83,881 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 174 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 979 games are announced against 522 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  10. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  11. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  12. + Time TravelFair16 devs · median $600 · 14 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cookie Clicker 2021 · $13M Cast n Chill 2025 · $3.8M Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M Rusty's Retirement 2024 · $2.9M The Farmer Was Replaced 2025 · $2.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cookie Clicker older $4.99 87,916 96% 2.6M $13M (exactly $13,161,025) Orteil, DashNet
Cast n Chill $14.99 8,383 94% 251k $3.8M (exactly $3,769,835) Wombat Brawler
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Rusty's Retirement older $6.99 13,902 96% 417k $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) Mister Morris Games
The Farmer Was Replaced $9.99 9,116 95% 273k $2.7M (exactly $2,732,065) Timon Herzog
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
(the) Gnorp Apologue older $6.99 9,613 94% 288k $2.0M (exactly $2,015,846) Myco
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
Farm Manager 2021 older $19.99 2,296 79% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,376,911) Cleversan Games
Keep on Mining! $4.99 8,300 93% 249k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510) EagleEye Games
Fortune Mill $7.99 3,712 81% 111k $890k (exactly $889,766) Lavaflame2
Tower Wizard $2.99 8,787 96% 264k $788k (exactly $788,194) Barribob
Orb of Creation $11.99 2,167 84% 65k $779k (exactly $779,470) MarpleGames
Microcivilization $17.99 1,437 78% 43k $776k (exactly $775,549) Ondrej Homola

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