Do I ship it?

Games › Mining › Mining + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Inventory Management game?

Mining + Inventory Management

Of 44 developers who shipped a Mining Inventory Management 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.. 92 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×4.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×564 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 92 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 92 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 44
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.8k → $599 → $1.8k → $2.0k → $4.3k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 44
Bottom 30% $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 25% $63k (exactly $63,294)
Top 5% $268k (exactly $267,976)
Developers, 2 yr 44
Released games 91
Announced 92
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 350% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Mining
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Mining, Inventory Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Crafting, Resource Management, Simulation
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Relaxing, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 7,690 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $63k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 92 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FarmingStrong odds18 devs · median $22k · 15 announced
  2. + TradingFair32 devs · median $12k · 33 announced
  3. + DwarvesFair17 devs · median $9.6k · 26 announced
  4. + Tower DefenseFair33 devs · median $6.3k · 45 announced
  5. + EconomyFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  6. + AutomationFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  7. + Turn-Based StrategyFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  9. + NatureFair42 devs · median $2.4k · 49 announced
  10. + IdlerFair136 devs · median $2.3k · 185 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair63 devs · median $2.1k · 53 announced

All 91 pairs on the Mining page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Melvor Idle 2021 · $4.4M Thriving City: Song 2024 · $1.7M Hammerting 2021 · $1.3M cyubeVR 2018 · EA · $959k Keep Digging 2025 · $614k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
Thriving City: Song older $18.99 3,054 81% 92k $1.7M (exactly $1,739,864) White Star Studio
Hammerting older $24.99 1,733 57% 52k $1.3M (exactly $1,299,230) Warpzone Studios
cyubeVR · EA older $29.99 1,066 90% 32k $959k (exactly $959,080) Stonebrick Studios
Keep Digging $6.99 2,927 79% 88k $614k (exactly $613,792) Wild Dog
Gemporium: A Cute Mining Sim $9.99 1,153 93% 35k $346k (exactly $345,554) Merge Conflict Studio
Medieval Crafter: Blacksmith $11.99 745 76% 22k $268k (exactly $267,976) Compact Core Games
Crypto Miner Tycoon Simulator older $23.99 326 82% 9.8k $235k (exactly $234,622) Bigosaur
Diggles: The Myth of Fenris older $9.99 619 89% 19k $186k (exactly $185,514) Spieleentwicklungskombinat GmbH, Genera… (Spieleentwicklungskombinat GmbH, General Arcade)
Eventide Matter $5.99 927 95% 28k $167k (exactly $166,582) Ottropi Games
Vanguard Galaxy · EA $8.99 565 90% 17k $152k (exactly $152,380) Bat Roost Games
Dig Island · EA $14.99 282 86% 8.5k $127k (exactly $126,815) FiftyEight Studios
Medieval Horse Dealer Simulator $17.99 193 89% 5.8k $104k (exactly $104,162) One Slice of Pizza Games
Rocky Idle $9.99 308 83% 9.2k $92k (exactly $92,308) Rocky Games Studio
Treasure Beach $9.99 271 81% 8.1k $81k (exactly $81,219) Rogue Duck Interactive
Between Adventures IDLE · EA $7.99 319 71% 9.6k $76k (exactly $76,464) Loop Forge

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