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Should I ship an Idler Shop Keeper?
Shop Keeper + Idler
Of 65 developers who shipped an Idler Shop Keeper 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.. 80 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×4.4 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×240 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 80 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) |
| Top 25% | $20k (exactly $19,587) |
| Top 5% | $114k (exactly $114,077) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 65 |
| Released games | 78 |
| Announced | 80 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 down 95% on the market, supply 1425% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Shop Keeper, Idler; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 3,998 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Shop Keeper with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + HorrorFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + ModernFair
- + StrategyFair
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + NaturePoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
Comparable games
Vending Machine Co. 2026 · $198k 
Budgie's Bug Shop 2026 · $183k 
Not Monday Cafe 2025 · $145k 
Loot Tycoon 2026 · EA · $114k 
GeckoShop 2026 · $102k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Vending Machine Co. | $14.99 | 441 85% | 13k | $198k (exactly $198,318) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
| | Budgie's Bug Shop | $5.99 | 1,016 96% | 30k | $183k (exactly $182,575) | Moon Lagoon | |
| | Not Monday Cafe | $8.99 | 539 94% | 16k | $145k (exactly $145,368) | Sunny Syrup Studio | |
| | Loot Tycoon | · EA | $6.99 | 544 71% | 16k | $114k (exactly $114,077) | Parallel Portal |
| | GeckoShop | $9.99 | 342 66% | 10k | $102k (exactly $102,497) | Reptoid | |
 | Skeleseller | $6.99 | 409 91% | 12k | $86k (exactly $85,767) | Xtonomous | |
 | Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk | · EA | $11.99 | 150 90% | 4.5k | $54k (exactly $53,955) | Aftabi Games |
 | Massage With Benefits | $9.99 | 175 84% | 5.3k | $52k (exactly $52,448) | pasunna | |
 | Idlequarium | $5.99 | 231 75% | 6.9k | $42k (exactly $41,511) | NutsX | |
 | Boba Simulator : Idle Shop Management | · EA older | $3.99 | 317 84% | 9.5k | $38k (exactly $37,945) | Cuddle Code |
 | Lured In | $7.99 | 151 84% | 4.5k | $36k (exactly $36,195) | Big Boy Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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