Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Idler
Should I ship an Idler Souls-like?
Souls-like + Idler
Only 6 developers shipped an Idler Souls-like in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Desktop Defender, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 7 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.
Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $840 against a market of $1.5k. 7 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $839 (exactly $839) |
| Top 25% | $36k (exactly $36,234) |
| Top 5% | $263k (exactly $263,023) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 6 |
| Released games | 28 |
| Announced | 7 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 43250% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 32%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Souls-like
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Souls-like, Idler
- Price point
- $4.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $2.00.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 5,764 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 4 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 7 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerLong shot
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + WarPoor odds
- + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
Comparable games
Desktop Defender 2025 · $263k 
XiuzhenWorld 2024 · $170k 
Gachi Heroes 2018 · $51k 
With Your Coworker 2026 · $36k 
Paint Drying Simulator 2021 · $9.1k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Desktop Defender | $4.99 | 1,757 92% | 53k | $263k (exactly $263,023) | Conradical Games | |
| | XiuzhenWorld | older | $12.99 | 436 75% | 13k | $170k (exactly $169,909) | Noforgetit |
| | Gachi Heroes | older | $0.99 | 1,708 93% | 51k | $51k (exactly $50,728) | GachiSoft |
| | With Your Coworker | $0.99 | 1,220 82% | 37k | $36k (exactly $36,234) | 搖滾冰塊 | |
| | Paint Drying Simulator | older | $0.99 | 307 90% | 9.2k | $9.1k (exactly $9,118) | GLADY'S Comcis |
 | Nothing | older | $0.99 | 243 95% | 7.3k | $7.2k (exactly $7,217) | Pixelatto |
 | Shattered Dreams: that one time when all my applications got rejected, so I started my own company. My life became an idle / clicker game where I must increase all incremental values and squeeze my employees for every last bit of soul they have left. | older | $4.99 | 19 68% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | Rainy Parts |
 | Idle Battle RPG | older | $3.99 | 20 50% | 600 | $2.4k (exactly $2,394) | roflinka games |
 | King Of Water | older | $0.99 | 43 95% | 1.3k | $1.3k (exactly $1,277) | Little Studio |
 | Banana Clicker | · EA older | $2.99 | 11 45% | 330 | $987 (exactly $987) | Siphon Games |
 | Idle RPG | $6.99 | 4 25% | 120 | $839 (exactly $839) | Repeat Games | |
 | Incestuous Affair | $2.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $179 (exactly $179) | Alright Peaches Studio | |
 | Gold Finger | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | 美慢慢 | |
 | Cheems Bonk | $0.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Cheems |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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