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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.
| 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.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Trading with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + MiningFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + FlightPoor odds
- + SportsPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
- + DrivingPoor odds
- + LootPoor odds
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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