Should I ship a Loot Trading game?
Loot + Trading
Of 23 developers who shipped a Loot Trading 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.. 60 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $23k, ×36 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $2.1M, ×3405 the market median. Revenue is up 8290% on the market; 60 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $897 (exactly $897) |
|---|---|
| Median | $23k (exactly $22,661) |
| Top 25% | $152k (exactly $152,380) |
| Top 5% | $2.1M (exactly $2,138,324) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 56 |
| Announced | 60 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 8290% on the market, supply 260% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 38%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Loot, Trading; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Resource Management, Exploration, RPG
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 44% positive over 33,757 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Loot with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds
- + Local Co-OpStrong odds
- + SteampunkStrong odds
- + CapitalismFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + JRPGFair
- + EconomyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + CatsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
Storage Hunter Simulator 2025 · $2.9M 
SpiritVale 2026 · EA · $2.1M 
BidKing 2026 · $2.0M 
Concubine 2025 · EA · $232k 
Bones and Coins 2026 · $153k | 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 | |
| | SpiritVale | · EA | $14.99 | 4,755 48% | 143k | $2.1M (exactly $2,138,324) | Baikun Interactive |
| | BidKing | $2.99 | 22,238 33% | 667k | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) | MindSurge Network & Games | |
| | Concubine | · EA | $14.99 | 517 81% | 16k | $232k (exactly $232,495) | Upgrade Entertainment |
| | Bones and Coins | $7.99 | 638 72% | 19k | $153k (exactly $152,929) | Troyd Games | |
 | Vanguard Galaxy | · EA | $8.99 | 565 90% | 17k | $152k (exactly $152,380) | Bat Roost Games |
 | The Viking Way | · EA older | $14.99 | 331 42% | 9.9k | $149k (exactly $148,851) | Ice Lava Games |
 | Treasure Beach | $9.99 | 271 81% | 8.1k | $81k (exactly $81,219) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Between Adventures IDLE | · EA | $7.99 | 319 71% | 9.6k | $76k (exactly $76,464) | Loop Forge |
 | IDLE_DIRECTIVE | $4.99 | 505 86% | 15k | $76k (exactly $75,598) | Kevinfu510 | |
 | BIG LOOT | · EA | $15.99 | 83 68% | 2.5k | $40k (exactly $39,815) | Reverie Clouds |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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