Games › Incremental › Incremental + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Incremental game?
Incremental + Sci-fi
Of 179 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 290 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $290; 1 in 20 cleared $98k, ×207 the market median. Revenue is up 105% on the market; 290 games are announced against 142 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $282 (exactly $282) |
|---|---|
| Median | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 25% | $4.4k (exactly $4,404) |
| Top 5% | $98k (exactly $98,116) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 179 |
| Released games | 351 |
| Announced | 290 |
| 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 105% on the market, supply 275% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Sci-fi
- 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Idler, Resource Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 5,229 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $290. 8 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 290 games are announced against 142 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 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
SPACEPLAN 2017 · $297k 
Polda 7 2022 · $268k 
The Last Cat in the Universe 2026 · $242k 
The Captain 2021 · $183k 
Starvester 2026 · $166k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SPACEPLAN | older | $2.99 | 3,315 91% | 99k | $297k (exactly $297,356) | Jake Hollands |
| | Polda 7 | older | $17.99 | 496 92% | 15k | $268k (exactly $267,691) | Zima software |
| | The Last Cat in the Universe | $6.99 | 1,153 95% | 35k | $242k (exactly $241,784) | Apamate Studio, Diora | |
| | The Captain | older | $19.99 | 305 92% | 9.2k | $183k (exactly $182,908) | Sysiac Games |
| | Starvester | $6.99 | 790 69% | 24k | $166k (exactly $165,663) | Syphono4 | |
 | Vanguard Galaxy | · EA | $8.99 | 565 90% | 17k | $152k (exactly $152,380) | Bat Roost Games |
 | CLICKOLDING | older | $2.99 | 1,662 81% | 50k | $149k (exactly $149,081) | Strange Scaffold |
 | Feed the Reactor | $6.99 | 658 82% | 20k | $138k (exactly $137,983) | Adam Travers | |
 | Vtuber Hack | $54.99 | 83 74% | 2.5k | $137k (exactly $136,925) | ベルゼブブ | |
 | Code: Terraform | · EA | $14.99 | 252 85% | 7.6k | $113k (exactly $113,324) | AppsMafia |
 | Dismantling Workshop of Bio-Girl | $29.99 | 120 61% | 3.6k | $108k (exactly $107,964) | 渡里laboratory | |
 | FEED THE AI | $5.99 | 557 90% | 17k | $100k (exactly $100,093) | Weird Kid Games | |
 | Minutescape | $5.99 | 546 74% | 16k | $98k (exactly $98,116) | Molter | |
 | IDLE_DIRECTIVE | $4.99 | 505 86% | 15k | $76k (exactly $75,598) | Kevinfu510 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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