Do I ship it?

GamesResource ManagementResource Management + Lovecraftian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Lovecraftian Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Lovecraftian

Of 33 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian 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.. 71 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.9k, ×10 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×453 the market median. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 71 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 71 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Lovecraftian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $30k → $14k → $80k → $269 → $9.3k → $4.9k → $46k (still earning) → $3.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Lovecraftian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $1.1k (exactly $1,076)
Median $4.9k (exactly $4,940)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $14,723)
Top 5% $215k (exactly $215,406)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 68
Announced 71
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 125% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Multiple Endings
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 4,532 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $4.9k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 71 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Resource Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cultist Simulator older $19.99 10,496 82% 315k $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) Weather Factory
Gloomwood · EA older $19.99 7,495 95% 225k $4.5M (exactly $4,494,752) Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Be… (Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Berens, Thomas Porta)
Fade to Silence older $29.99 1,032 62% 31k $928k (exactly $928,490) Black Forest Games
Gamblers Table $6.99 2,955 74% 89k $620k (exactly $619,664) greenpixels, Bossforge
Shardpunk older $13.99 739 92% 22k $310k (exactly $310,158) Clockwork Pile
Roots Devour $14.99 479 68% 14k $215k (exactly $215,406) Rewinding Games
The Hive older $19.99 299 71% 9.0k $179k (exactly $179,310) Skydome Entertainment
Chromosome Evil 2 older $19.99 252 88% 7.6k $151k (exactly $151,124) S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L., dovganovskiy
Alder's Blood: Definitive Edition older $19.99 209 60% 6.3k $125k (exactly $125,337) Shockwork Games
THE MUTE HOUSE $12.99 302 79% 9.1k $118k (exactly $117,689) December Blues Games
Subversive Memories $11.99 129 96% 3.9k $46k (exactly $46,401) Southward Studio
Interdimensional Vending Machine $7.99 185 84% 5.6k $44k (exactly $44,344) Neuroticfly Games
Luck & Loot $7.99 138 90% 4.1k $33k (exactly $33,079) SMARTcreative
The Carcass $9.99 76 26% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) PiqFocus Interactive
These Darker Tides $7.99 76 90% 2.3k $18k (exactly $18,217) Pixel Drip Games
Cult of the Yellow King · EA $3.99 123 79% 3.7k $15k (exactly $14,723) Metaphor Games, Newmind Interactive
Petunia's Purgatory $6.99 69 98% 2.1k $14k (exactly $14,469) Dead Possum Games

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