Games › Idler › Idler + Underground
Should I ship an Underground Idler?
Idler + Underground
Of 30 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 31 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $600. Revenue is up 200% on the market; 31 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
| Top 25% | $8.0k (exactly $7,969) |
| Top 5% | $133k (exactly $133,160) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 44 |
| Announced | 31 |
| 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 200% on the market, supply 300% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
- Underground
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Mining, Roguelike
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,709 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 24 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
THE LONGING 2020 · $3.1M 
You Know The Drill 2026 · $153k 
Diggin 2026 · $133k 
Kin and Quarry 2026 · $120k 
Idle Deepcore 2026 · $77k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | THE LONGING | older | $14.99 | 6,977 92% | 209k | $3.1M (exactly $3,137,557) | Studio Seufz |
| | You Know The Drill | $4.99 | 1,022 92% | 31k | $153k (exactly $152,993) | ludokai | |
| | Diggin | $6.99 | 635 80% | 19k | $133k (exactly $133,160) | Longshot Studio | |
| | Kin and Quarry | $9.99 | 400 75% | 12k | $120k (exactly $119,880) | The Fox Knocks | |
| | Idle Deepcore | $6.99 | 365 85% | 11k | $77k (exactly $76,540) | Bluehood Games | |
 | The Candle | $4.99 | 71 91% | 2.1k | $11k (exactly $10,629) | Candle Dev | |
 | 100 hidden frogs 2 | older | $0.99 | 327 77% | 9.8k | $9.7k (exactly $9,712) | Anatoliy Loginovskikh |
 | Loot Dungeon | $6.99 | 44 54% | 1.3k | $9.2k (exactly $9,227) | Electric Kite | |
 | Orebits | $6.99 | 42 66% | 1.3k | $8.8k (exactly $8,807) | Upgraded Studio | |
 | Minimal Dungeon RPG | older | $5.99 | 45 46% | 1.4k | $8.1k (exactly $8,086) | CapPlay Interactive Inc. |
 | Cozy Mining | $6.99 | 38 76% | 1.1k | $8.0k (exactly $7,969) | tatsumaki games | |
 | Peckers | $4.99 | 37 97% | 1.1k | $5.5k (exactly $5,539) | Humblebright Studio | |
 | Sin Slayers: Meat & Greed | $2.99 | 55 52% | 1.7k | $4.9k (exactly $4,934) | Goonswarm Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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