Do I ship it?

GamesLootLoot + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Loot Resource Management game?

Loot + Resource Management

Of 131 developers who shipped a Loot Resource 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.. 265 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×9.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×589 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 265 games are announced against 105 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 265 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 131
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $14k → $50k → $21k → $13k → $1.6k → $5.4k → $7.4k (still earning) → $4.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 131
Bottom 30% $959 (exactly $959)
Median $5.7k (exactly $5,662)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $31,625)
Top 5% $370k (exactly $370,028)
Developers, 2 yr 131
Released games 206
Announced 265
Effort 5 / 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 55% on the market, supply 275% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Loot, Resource Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Idler, Incremental
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 58% positive over 45,374 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $960, median $5.7k, 1 in 4 over $31k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $960. 7 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 265 games are announced against 105 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds28 devs · median $19k · 22 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  3. + SteampunkStrong odds7 devs · median $2.2k · 10 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair36 devs · median $14k · 52 announced
  5. + Turn-Based StrategyFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  6. + JRPGFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  7. + EconomyFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  8. + IdlerFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  9. + CatsFair17 devs · median $3.4k · 24 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  11. + Creature CollectorFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair90 devs · median $1.9k · 95 announced

All 159 pairs on the Loot page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Storage Hunter Simulator $24.99 3,866 78% 116k $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) Raccoons Studio
BidKing $2.99 22,238 33% 667k $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) MindSurge Network & Games
Keep on Mining! $4.99 8,300 93% 249k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510) EagleEye Games
The Lost Village older $11.99 2,743 70% 82k $987k (exactly $986,657) FunYoo Games
Tales & Tactics older $17.99 1,737 80% 52k $937k (exactly $937,459) Table 9 Studio
Fortune Mill $7.99 3,712 81% 111k $890k (exactly $889,766) Lavaflame2
Wild Woods · EA $14.99 1,746 78% 52k $785k (exactly $785,176) Octofox Games
The Wild at Heart older $24.99 722 95% 22k $541k (exactly $541,283) Moonlight Kids
Survive the Fall $24.99 590 65% 18k $442k (exactly $442,323) Angry Bulls Studio
Keep on Mining! - Worlds $6.99 1,899 80% 57k $398k (exactly $398,220) EagleEye Games
Loot of Baal $8.99 1,372 62% 41k $370k (exactly $370,028) Gleamer Studio
Darfall $24.99 491 71% 15k $368k (exactly $368,103) SquareNite
Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising $9.99 1,160 77% 35k $348k (exactly $347,652) Small Mill, Small Mill

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