Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Idler
Should I ship an Idler Sandbox?
Sandbox + Idler
Of 258 developers who shipped an Idler Sandbox 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.. 306 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 $360. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 306 games are announced against 183 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $358 (exactly $358) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $6.1k (exactly $6,110) |
| Top 5% | $262k (exactly $261,502) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 258 |
| Released games | 498 |
| Announced | 306 |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Building
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 44,139 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 93 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 306 games are announced against 183 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
WorldBox - God Simulator 2021 · EA · $31M 
Farm Together 2 2025 · $3.5M 
The Farmer Was Replaced 2025 · $2.7M 
Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim 2025 · $2.2M 
Berry Bury Berry 2026 · $2.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | WorldBox - God Simulator | · EA older | $19.99 | 51,071 95% | 1.5M | $31M (exactly $30,627,279) | Maxim Karpenko |
| | Farm Together 2 | $25.99 | 4,456 93% | 134k | $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) | Milkstone Studios | |
| | The Farmer Was Replaced | $9.99 | 9,116 95% | 273k | $2.7M (exactly $2,732,065) | Timon Herzog | |
| | Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim | $24.90 | 2,938 77% | 88k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,686) | Rockbee Team | |
| | Berry Bury Berry | $7.99 | 8,619 98% | 259k | $2.1M (exactly $2,065,974) | Get(Color) Games | |
 | Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator | · EA older | $6.99 | 8,904 96% | 267k | $1.9M (exactly $1,867,169) | JoySpark Games |
 | BitCraft Online | · EA | $15.99 | 3,334 72% | 100k | $1.6M (exactly $1,599,320) | Clockwork Laboratories, Inc. |
 | Fly Corp | older | $14.99 | 3,112 85% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,399,466) | KishMish Games |
 | Farm Manager 2021 | older | $19.99 | 2,296 79% | 69k | $1.4M (exactly $1,376,911) | Cleversan Games |
 | Tiny Pasture | $5.99 | 7,055 92% | 212k | $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) | CaveLiquid | |
 | Fortune Mill | $7.99 | 3,712 81% | 111k | $890k (exactly $889,766) | Lavaflame2 | |
 | Hotel Galactic | · EA | $34.99 | 594 73% | 18k | $624k (exactly $623,522) | EndGameLoop Games |
 | Maltese's Fluffy Onsen | $5.99 | 2,727 94% | 82k | $490k (exactly $490,042) | Sinkhole Studio, Moonlab Studio | |
 | Birdwatching Notebook | $9.99 | 1,588 97% | 48k | $476k (exactly $475,924) | Biekka Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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