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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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Incremental with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + OtomeStrong odds
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + MiningFair
- + Souls-likeFair
- + Arena ShooterFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + UndergroundFair
- + LootFair
- + SupernaturalFair
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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