Do I ship it?

GamesMiningMining + Logic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Logic game?

Mining + Logic

Only 19 developers shipped a Mining Logic game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Rise of Industry 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 27 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×340 the market median. Revenue is up 640% on the market; 27 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 640% on the market, 27 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + Logic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $479 → $2.0k → $2.7k (still earning) → $839 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + Logic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,777)
Top 5% $162k (exactly $161,654)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 62
Announced 27
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 640% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Logic
effort 2 / 10 · high · deductive rules and grids

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Mining, Logic; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Automation, Building
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Minimalist
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 592 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $750, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stationeers · EA older $34.99 8,597 88% 258k $9.0M (exactly $9,024,271) RocketWerkz
Winter · EA older $29.99 340 73% 10k $306k (exactly $305,898) Frostfall Realms Studios
Rise of Industry 2 $34.99 154 55% 4.6k $162k (exactly $161,654) SomaSim
Outerverse older $19.99 105 51% 3.2k $63k (exactly $62,968) Tbjbu2
I Fetch Rocks $15.99 110 94% 3.3k $53k (exactly $52,767) SarumXR
Snacktorio $7.99 215 90% 6.5k $52k (exactly $51,536) ellraiser
Roody:2d · EA older $14.99 48 97% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) redinator2000
Something Ate My Alien older $16.99 40 87% 1.2k $20k (exactly $20,388) Rokabium Games
The soldier in the mine older $4.99 91 52% 2.7k $14k (exactly $13,623) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
Engineer Alpha · EA older $9.99 24 75% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Aaron Worcester
Dataminers $6.99 21 95% 630 $4.4k (exactly $4,404) Electrocosmos
Sphere TD · EA $13.99 9 100% 270 $3.8k (exactly $3,777) Standard Issue Games
Truck City $5.99 20 80% 600 $3.6k (exactly $3,594) Mikel Fernandez
Rescue Team: Lights. Camera. Outer Space $6.99 13 76% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) Game Mixer
Rescue Team: Legion of Destruction $6.99 13 100% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) Game Mixer
Loot of Idle $1.99 33 48% 990 $2.0k (exactly $1,970) DarkRook Interactive
Rescue Team: Phantom Crisis $6.99 4 75% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Game Mixer

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