Do I ship it?

GamesIncrementalIncremental + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Incremental game?

Incremental + Magic

Of 121 developers who shipped a Magic Incremental 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.. 213 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×5.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×521 the market median. Revenue is up 295% on the market; 213 games are announced against 86 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 295% on the market, 213 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 121
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $150 → $628 → $298 → $1.5k → $9.1k → $2.7k (still earning) → $3.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Incremental + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 121
Bottom 30% $538 (exactly $538)
Median $2.6k (exactly $2,635)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,575)
Top 5% $247k (exactly $247,335)
Developers, 2 yr 121
Released games 256
Announced 213
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 295% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Magic
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 Idler, Simulation, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 19,973 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.6k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 213 games are announced against 86 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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
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
Cauldron $14.99 1,678 92% 50k $755k (exactly $754,597) SleepyDad Games
Click Mage $4.99 2,529 91% 76k $379k (exactly $378,591) Tiny Crow Games
Master Healer Kale with useless party $4.99 1,879 95% 56k $281k (exactly $281,286) Evrac Studio
Nomad Idle $9.99 852 64% 26k $255k (exactly $255,344) The Fox Knocks
Souper Game $14.99 550 78% 17k $247k (exactly $247,335) SinBeans Studio
LOLLIPOP! older $4.99 1,318 75% 40k $197k (exactly $197,305) 430Games, __Ja__ga__imo__
Factory Town Idle older $4.99 1,232 90% 37k $184k (exactly $184,430) Erik Asmussen
~Be a maid in the Demon World~ The Secret Café of the Demon Angel Hero. older $18.99 320 74% 9.6k $182k (exactly $182,304) Kokutou Umeboshi
Desktop Raid $8.99 672 76% 20k $181k (exactly $181,238) Lee_Studio
WANDERER: Broken Bed $14.99 314 65% 9.4k $141k (exactly $141,206) TopHouse Studio
Legacy of Defense $7.99 545 72% 16k $131k (exactly $130,636) Enter the Game Studios

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