Do I ship it?

Games › Puzzle › Puzzle + Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Incremental Puzzle game?

Puzzle + Incremental

Of 402 developers who shipped an Incremental Puzzle 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.. 355 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $120 for a 2 / 10 build. 231 developers shipped in the last year and 355 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 110% on the market, 355 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle + Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 402
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $564 → $1.9k → $594 → $802 → $359 → $300 → $466 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle + Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 402
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $2.6k (exactly $2,601)
Top 5% $65k (exactly $64,735)
Developers, 2 yr 402
Released games 1,666
Announced 355
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $2.49

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 110% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Puzzle, Incremental; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Point & Click, Adventure, Simulation
Price point
$2.49 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $2.49.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 26,935 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $64k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 327 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 355 games are announced against 231 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Puzzle with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorFair57 devs · median $8.2k · 53 announced
  2. + Medical SimFair17 devs · median $6.1k · 27 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair40 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair161 devs · median $1.8k · 150 announced
  5. + VampiresFair46 devs · median $1.7k · 37 announced
  6. + CatsFair281 devs · median $1.2k · 334 announced
  7. + DemonsFair233 devs · median $1.2k · 248 announced
  8. + God GameFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  9. + RomanceFair209 devs · median $1.0k · 251 announced
  10. + AutomationFair135 devs · median $1.0k · 164 announced
  11. + Tower DefenseFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 67 announced
  12. + LemmingsFair13 devs · median $959 · 11 announced

All 246 pairs on the Puzzle page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Moncage 2021 · $2.3M Peeping Dorm Manager 2023 · $2.0M Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator 2025 · $2.0M Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery 2021 · $1.9M Boxes: Lost Fragments 2024 · $1.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Moncage older $14.99 5,127 92% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,305,612) Optillusion
Peeping Dorm Manager older $10.99 6,206 92% 186k $2.0M (exactly $2,046,118) HornyDoge
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator $12.99 5,191 92% 156k $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) Aluba Van+
Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery older $12.99 4,966 94% 149k $1.9M (exactly $1,935,250) Silver Lining Studio
Boxes: Lost Fragments older $14.99 3,244 92% 97k $1.5M (exactly $1,458,827) Big Loop Studios
Chicken Police - Paint it RED! older $19.99 1,624 94% 49k $974k (exactly $973,913) The Wild Gentlemen
Stone Story RPG older $29.99 893 90% 27k $803k (exactly $803,432) Rex Games, standardcombo
Orb of Creation $11.99 2,167 84% 65k $779k (exactly $779,470) MarpleGames
Doors: Paradox older $14.99 1,579 91% 47k $710k (exactly $710,076) Big Loop Studios
Horripilant $7.99 2,928 92% 88k $702k (exactly $701,842) Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio
Sex, Secrets & Used Tech $16.99 1,291 85% 39k $658k (exactly $658,023) WorkNite Games, 78Games
Supermarket Chaos $4.99 3,266 92% 98k $489k (exactly $488,920) BunnyHop
Proverbs $8.99 1,786 96% 54k $482k (exactly $481,684) Mark Ffrench
That's not my Neighbor $2.99 4,498 88% 135k $403k (exactly $403,471) Nachosama Games
Outhold $6.99 1,818 86% 55k $381k (exactly $381,235) Tellus Games
Click Mage $4.99 2,529 91% 76k $379k (exactly $378,591) Tiny Crow Games
Sort Them Ducks $5.99 1,461 92% 44k $263k (exactly $262,542) Mr.Duck

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