Do I ship it?

Games › Shop Keeper › Shop Keeper + Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Incremental Shop Keeper?

Shop Keeper + Incremental

Of 56 developers who shipped an Incremental Shop Keeper 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.. 89 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $180. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 89 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 89 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shop Keeper + Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 56
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $10k → $539 (still earning) → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shop Keeper + Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 56
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,346)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $21,666)
Top 5% $90k (exactly $89,961)
Developers, 2 yr 56
Released games 68
Announced 89
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 2600% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Shop Keeper, Incremental; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Idler
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Cute
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 85% positive over 3,197 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $89k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 89 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds101 devs · median $13k · 122 announced
  2. + HorrorFair32 devs · median $5.1k · 55 announced
  3. + Psychological HorrorFair26 devs · median $5.1k · 44 announced
  4. + ModernFair27 devs · median $3.2k · 28 announced
  5. + StrategyFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  6. + LogicFair20 devs · median $1.5k · 27 announced
  7. + Strategy RPGFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + NaturePoor odds32 devs · median $31k · 59 announced
  9. + BuildingPoor odds140 devs · median $16k · 209 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds44 devs · median $16k · 96 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds40 devs · median $13k · 96 announced
  12. + CollectathonPoor odds44 devs · median $12k · 75 announced

All 48 pairs on the Shop Keeper page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Final Profit: A Shop RPG 2023 · $234k Budgie's Bug Shop 2026 · $183k Loot Tycoon 2026 · EA · $114k Happy Endings 2026 · $90k Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk 2025 · EA · $54k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Final Profit: A Shop RPG older $14.99 520 95% 16k $234k (exactly $233,844) Brent Arnold
Budgie's Bug Shop $5.99 1,016 96% 30k $183k (exactly $182,575) Moon Lagoon
Loot Tycoon · EA $6.99 544 71% 16k $114k (exactly $114,077) Parallel Portal
Happy Endings $6.99 429 86% 13k $90k (exactly $89,961) Late Night Studios
Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk · EA $11.99 150 90% 4.5k $54k (exactly $53,955) Aftabi Games
Massage With Benefits $9.99 175 84% 5.3k $52k (exactly $52,448) pasunna
Idlequarium $5.99 231 75% 6.9k $42k (exactly $41,511) NutsX
Tidy Up Together $5.99 221 80% 6.6k $40k (exactly $39,714) Malum Games
Boba Simulator : Idle Shop Management · EA older $3.99 317 84% 9.5k $38k (exactly $37,945) Cuddle Code
Lured In $7.99 151 84% 4.5k $36k (exactly $36,195) Big Boy Games
TerraForge $8.99 113 78% 3.4k $30k (exactly $30,476) OverjoyedGameDevs
FeeBay Simulator $5.99 167 91% 5.0k $30k (exactly $30,010) Lake Country Games

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