Games › Idler › Idler + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Idler?
Idler + Sci-fi
Of 173 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 214 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 214 games are announced against 129 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) |
| Top 5% | $76k (exactly $75,598) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 173 |
| Released games | 297 |
| Announced | 214 |
| 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 40% on the market, supply 185% 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
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Incremental, Resource Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 6,005 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 214 games are announced against 129 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Idler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashFair
- + DrivingFair
- + LootFair
- + FPSFair
- + Turn-Based CombatFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + CapitalismFair
- + SwordplayFair
Comparable games
SPACEPLAN 2017 · $297k 
Haydee 3 2025 · $289k 
The Last Cat in the Universe 2026 · $242k 
Asbury Pines 2025 · EA · $217k 
Starvester 2026 · $166k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SPACEPLAN | older | $2.99 | 3,315 91% | 99k | $297k (exactly $297,356) | Jake Hollands |
| | Haydee 3 | $29.99 | 321 84% | 9.6k | $289k (exactly $288,804) | Haydee Interactive | |
| | The Last Cat in the Universe | $6.99 | 1,153 95% | 35k | $242k (exactly $241,784) | Apamate Studio, Diora | |
| | Asbury Pines | · EA | $12.99 | 558 90% | 17k | $217k (exactly $217,453) | Chaystar Unlimited LLC |
| | Starvester | $6.99 | 790 69% | 24k | $166k (exactly $165,663) | Syphono4 | |
 | Vanguard Galaxy | · EA | $8.99 | 565 90% | 17k | $152k (exactly $152,380) | Bat Roost Games |
 | Feed the Reactor | $6.99 | 658 82% | 20k | $138k (exactly $137,983) | Adam Travers | |
 | Lifeform Zero | older | $7.99 | 476 82% | 14k | $114k (exactly $114,097) | Sins of Succubus |
 | FEED THE AI | $5.99 | 557 90% | 17k | $100k (exactly $100,093) | Weird Kid Games | |
 | Minutescape | $5.99 | 546 74% | 16k | $98k (exactly $98,116) | Molter | |
 | IDLE_DIRECTIVE | $4.99 | 505 86% | 15k | $76k (exactly $75,598) | Kevinfu510 | |
 | Rock Crusher | $6.99 | 352 84% | 11k | $74k (exactly $73,814) | Mini Fun Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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