Games › Mining › Mining + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Mining game?
Mining + Mystery
Of 30 developers who shipped a Mystery Mining 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.5k, ×12 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $690k, ×1470 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 50 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $960 (exactly $960) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.5k (exactly $5,513) |
| Top 25% | $106k (exactly $106,147) |
| Top 5% | $698k (exactly $698,342) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 48 |
| Announced | 50 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, 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
- Mining; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Crafting, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Voxel
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 25,393 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $960. 6 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Mining with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + TradingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + EconomyFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + NatureFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
Hidden Deep 2022 · EA · $3.2M 
A Game About Digging A Hole™ 2025 · $2.8M 
The Spotter: Dig or Die 2026 · $698k 
UnderMine 2 2025 · EA · $497k 
Meltopia 2026 · $352k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hidden Deep | · EA older | $24.99 | 4,293 76% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) | Cogwheel Software |
| | A Game About Digging A Hole™ | $4.99 | 18,785 89% | 564k | $2.8M (exactly $2,812,114) | DoubleBee | |
| | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
| | UnderMine 2 | · EA | $19.99 | 828 75% | 25k | $497k (exactly $496,552) | Thorium |
| | Meltopia | $6.99 | 1,679 85% | 50k | $352k (exactly $352,086) | Garden of Dreams | |
 | Island Notes | $12.99 | 884 82% | 27k | $344k (exactly $344,495) | KangBaoGame | |
 | Dig Island | · EA | $14.99 | 282 86% | 8.5k | $127k (exactly $126,815) | FiftyEight Studios |
 | Digger: Galactic Treasures | $4.99 | 711 87% | 21k | $106k (exactly $106,437) | RainStyle games | |
 | Everdeep Aurora | $19.99 | 177 89% | 5.3k | $106k (exactly $106,147) | Nautilus Games | |
 | The Black Ice | · EA | $14.99 | 147 77% | 4.4k | $66k (exactly $66,106) | RED CRAB GAMES, Antelus Games |
 | Drill and Delve | $8.99 | 108 87% | 3.2k | $29k (exactly $29,128) | noOne |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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