Do I ship it?

GamesTradingTrading + Logic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Trading Logic game?

Trading + Logic

Of 23 developers who shipped a Trading Logic 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.. 25 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×340 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 25 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Trading + Logic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $300 → $42k → $3.6k → $538 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Trading + Logic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $42k (exactly $42,088)
Top 5% $162k (exactly $161,654)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 44
Announced 25
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 down 80% on the market, supply 30% fewer 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Trading
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
Trading, Logic; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Building, Economy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 1,485 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $42k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + MiningFair32 devs · median $12k · 33 announced
  2. + Score AttackFair13 devs · median $600 · 13 announced
  3. + MMORPGPoor odds6 devs · median $206k · 42 announced
  4. + Character CustomizationPoor odds26 devs · median $60k · 137 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds23 devs · median $47k · 84 announced
  6. + Co-opPoor odds24 devs · median $47k · 82 announced
  7. + FlightPoor odds6 devs · median $36k · 21 announced
  8. + SportsPoor odds11 devs · median $34k · 14 announced
  9. + CollectathonPoor odds28 devs · median $30k · 65 announced
  10. + PhysicsPoor odds23 devs · median $27k · 71 announced
  11. + DrivingPoor odds23 devs · median $24k · 48 announced
  12. + LootPoor odds23 devs · median $23k · 60 announced

All 109 pairs on the Trading page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Time on Frog Island older $19.99 284 71% 8.5k $170k (exactly $170,315) Half Past Yellow
Bank Simulator · EA $14.99 367 70% 11k $165k (exactly $165,040) Strong Bow Games
Rise of Industry 2 $34.99 154 55% 4.6k $162k (exactly $161,654) SomaSim
Alchemist Simulator older $12.99 370 76% 11k $144k (exactly $144,189) Art Games Studio S.A.
Lure Of Passion $5.99 452 89% 14k $81k (exactly $81,224) Snakerser's Games
Akin older $4.99 498 86% 15k $75k (exactly $74,551) ThinkOfGames
Device Doctor Simulator 2024 $9.99 186 62% 5.6k $56k (exactly $55,744) Tenacity Games
ShoppingMall: Manager Simulator $14.99 95 45% 2.9k $43k (exactly $42,722) Geekon
Tiny Garden $12.99 108 85% 3.2k $42k (exactly $42,088) Ao Norte
Business War: ERP Sandbox Simulation $15.99 33 84% 990 $16k (exactly $15,830) 夜与潜伏者
Gun Store Simulator · EA $9.99 41 56% 1.2k $12k (exactly $12,288) Geekon
City Supermarket Simulator $9.99 32 75% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) FunPlay Dev
Shoes Store Simulator · EA $12.99 17 52% 510 $6.6k (exactly $6,625) AAA DEV

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