Do I ship it?

GamesIncrementalIncremental + Noir

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Noir Incremental game?

Incremental + Noir

Of 29 developers who shipped a Noir 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.. 27 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 27 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 27 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental + Noir
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $59 → $6.6k → $1.3k → $6.5k → $479 (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Incremental + Noir: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,197)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,775)
Top 5% $88k (exactly $88,072)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 79
Announced 27
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 55% on the market, supply 230% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
Noir
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Incremental; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Point & Click, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 3,165 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $88k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

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
Chicken Police - Paint it RED! older $19.99 1,624 94% 49k $974k (exactly $973,913) The Wild Gentlemen
Lost2 older $15.99 1,382 81% 41k $663k (exactly $662,945) DSGame
Unfair Flips $1.99 2,523 88% 76k $151k (exactly $150,623) HEATHER FLOWERS
CLICKOLDING older $2.99 1,662 81% 50k $149k (exactly $149,081) Strange Scaffold
Mosaic of the Strange $12.99 226 92% 6.8k $88k (exactly $88,072) Mark Ffrench
The Kindeman Remedy older $4.99 270 67% 8.1k $40k (exactly $40,419) Troglobytes Games
Phantom Tentacle older $1.99 647 85% 19k $39k (exactly $38,626) LSP GAME
Boxed Girl $4.99 166 72% 5.0k $25k (exactly $24,850) エデン&イブ
NoseBound $14.99 36 86% 1.1k $16k (exactly $16,189) Quarantine Interactive
Dad's Monster House 2: MEDAL $4.99 80 78% 2.4k $12k (exactly $11,976) Cotton Game
The Midnight Crimes $10.99 20 60% 600 $6.6k (exactly $6,594) DeadlyCrow Games
No Vacancy Tonight $8.99 24 100% 720 $6.5k (exactly $6,473) Momiji Games
Just One More Link $6.99 18 94% 540 $3.8k (exactly $3,775) Blagine
Streetlight Syndicate $6.99 17 82% 510 $3.6k (exactly $3,565) BeagleGuy
Green Pond Town $1.99 55 74% 1.7k $3.3k (exactly $3,284) Cotton Game

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