Games › Logic › Logic + Underground
Should I ship an Underground Logic game?
Logic + Underground
Of 24 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×2.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $19k, ×41 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 35 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $955 (exactly $955) |
| Top 25% | $3.3k (exactly $3,267) |
| Top 5% | $20k (exactly $19,502) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 64 |
| Announced | 35 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Logic
- effort 2 / 10 · high · deductive rules and grids
- Underground
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Logic; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Stylized, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 438 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Logic with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LovecraftianFair
- + City BuilderFair
- + NoirFair
- + HackingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DragonsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Bullet TimeFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + TransportationFair
- + Automobile SimFair
- + CookingFair
Comparable games
while True: learn() 2019 · $2.9M 
The Ball 2010 · $249k 
Tunnet 2023 · $126k 
Lord Ambermaze 2025 · $59k 
The Long Gate 2020 · $23k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | while True: learn() | older | $12.99 | 7,350 91% | 221k | $2.9M (exactly $2,864,295) | Luden.io |
| | The Ball | older | $9.99 | 830 74% | 25k | $249k (exactly $248,751) | Teotl Studios |
| | Tunnet | older | $5.99 | 699 94% | 21k | $126k (exactly $125,610) | puzzled_squid |
| | Lord Ambermaze | $14.99 | 131 91% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | Potata Company | |
| | The Long Gate | older | $19.99 | 39 79% | 1.2k | $23k (exactly $23,388) | David Shaw |
 | Roody:2d | · EA older | $14.99 | 48 97% | 1.4k | $22k (exactly $21,586) | redinator2000 |
 | Take Notes | $6.99 | 93 96% | 2.8k | $20k (exactly $19,502) | Stoneware Game Studio | |
 | Dungeon Divers | older | $4.99 | 103 78% | 3.1k | $15k (exactly $15,419) | Wilson The Ball |
 | The soldier in the mine | older | $4.99 | 91 52% | 2.7k | $14k (exactly $13,623) | Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich |
 | Club Soko | $13.99 | 18 100% | 540 | $7.6k (exactly $7,555) | Miracle Tea | |
 | Blockmind | · EA | $1.99 | 115 78% | 3.5k | $6.9k (exactly $6,866) | Quacky Games |
 | Subsequence | $4.99 | 31 96% | 930 | $4.6k (exactly $4,641) | Zoemi Games | |
 | Metro Architect | · EA | $9.90 | 11 54% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,267) | Northern21 Studio |
 | HomeNaut | $6.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) | Origami Sword | |
 | Gnomes Garden: Black Stones | $14.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | 8floor ltd | |
 | Portal Walk | $4.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) | Art&Fact | |
 | DEDALO - Escape Room Adventure | $5.99 | 9 55% | 270 | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) | M9 Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.