Games › Strategy › Strategy + Idler
Should I ship an Idler Strategy game?
Strategy + Idler
Of 696 developers who shipped an Idler Strategy 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.. 988 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $510. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 988 games are announced against 545 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $505 (exactly $505) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,442) |
| Top 5% | $223k (exactly $223,053) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 696 |
| Released games | 1,335 |
| Announced | 988 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 90% on the market, supply 215% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy, Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Simulation, Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 66,187 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $510. 7 in 10 of the 223 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 988 games are announced against 545 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
Cookie Clicker 2021 · $13M 
Rusty's Retirement 2024 · $2.9M 
Swords & Souls: Neverseen 2019 · $2.7M 
The Farmer Was Replaced 2025 · $2.7M 
Shelldiver 2025 · $2.5M | 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 |
| | Rusty's Retirement | older | $6.99 | 13,902 96% | 417k | $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) | Mister Morris Games |
| | Swords & Souls: Neverseen | older | $14.99 | 6,077 93% | 182k | $2.7M (exactly $2,732,827) | SoulGame Studio |
| | 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 | |
 | Dragon Cliff | older | $9.99 | 7,679 88% | 230k | $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) | Meta Interaction |
 | Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim | $24.90 | 2,938 77% | 88k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,686) | Rockbee Team | |
 | 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 |
 | Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator | · EA older | $6.99 | 8,904 96% | 267k | $1.9M (exactly $1,867,169) | JoySpark Games |
 | Keep on Mining! | $4.99 | 8,300 93% | 249k | $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510) | EagleEye Games | |
 | Sir, We Have an Orc Problem | $9.99 | 4,123 86% | 124k | $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) | Mumpitz Games | |
 | Multiverse Loot Hunter | $11.99 | 2,585 80% | 78k | $930k (exactly $929,824) | 游戏养家工作室 | |
 | 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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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