Do I ship it?

GamesIncrementalIncremental + Lovecraftian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Lovecraftian Incremental game?

Incremental + Lovecraftian

Only 18 developers shipped a Lovecraftian Incremental game 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, Gamblers Table, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×12 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $610k, ×1305 the market median. Revenue is up 755% on the market; 26 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 755% on the market, 26 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental + Lovecraftian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.0k → $8.6k → $15k → $5.4k (still earning) → $6.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Incremental + Lovecraftian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,197)
Median $5.7k (exactly $5,689)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $18,263)
Top 5% $620k (exactly $619,664)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 40
Announced 26
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 755% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 3%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
Lovecraftian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Incremental; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Idler, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Dark, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 3,961 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $5.7k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $610k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Incremental with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds15 devs · median $11k · 12 announced
  2. + OtomeStrong odds12 devs · median $7.0k · 11 announced
  3. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $6.1k · 15 announced
  4. + FarmingFair21 devs · median $5.9k · 23 announced
  5. + Dynamic NarrationFair19 devs · median $4.0k · 14 announced
  6. + MiningFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair15 devs · median $3.5k · 20 announced
  9. + Dating SimFair140 devs · median $3.1k · 136 announced
  10. + UndergroundFair27 devs · median $3.0k · 35 announced
  11. + LootFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  12. + SupernaturalFair33 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced

All 188 pairs on the Incremental page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Gamblers Table $6.99 2,955 74% 89k $620k (exactly $619,664) greenpixels, Bossforge
I'm on Observation Duty 6 older $11.99 652 94% 20k $235k (exactly $234,524) Notovia, Dreamloop Games
The House of Da Vinci VR $24.99 126 93% 3.8k $94k (exactly $94,462) Blue Brain Games
Fishing The Abyss $6.99 421 95% 13k $88k (exactly $88,284) umaaaaaa studio
Cyndy older $7.99 208 66% 6.2k $50k (exactly $49,858) DreamBig Games
Candlelight: Lament older $9.99 82 90% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,575) 正方形劳伦斯
Whisper of Y'Ryando $7.99 89 70% 2.7k $21k (exactly $21,333) IndieCain, YuetXD
SmashCore $4.99 122 94% 3.7k $18k (exactly $18,263) Braian
Strip 'Em II: Facka's Game older $14.99 38 81% 1.1k $17k (exactly $17,089) DreamBig Games, Lemonhaze Studio
NoseBound $14.99 36 86% 1.1k $16k (exactly $16,189) Quarantine Interactive
Cult of the Yellow King · EA $3.99 123 79% 3.7k $15k (exactly $14,723) Metaphor Games, Newmind Interactive
Hell Cleaners · EA $14.99 15 60% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) WFP Entertainment
Kibble Cats $4.99 38 89% 1.1k $5.7k (exactly $5,689) Vozmog
Hail the Devourer $4.99 36 66% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) Anchorhead Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.