Games › Mining › Mining + Mystery Dungeon
Should I ship a Mining Mystery Dungeon?
Mining + Mystery Dungeon
Only 8 developers shipped a Mining Mystery Dungeon in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Abyss: New Dawn, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 14 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $14k, ×30 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 14 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $898 (exactly $898) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,160) |
| Top 25% | $8.1k (exactly $8,084) |
| Top 5% | $14k (exactly $14,244) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 8 |
| Released games | 27 |
| Announced | 14 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 80% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Mining
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Mystery Dungeon
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Mining, Mystery Dungeon
- Price point
- $3.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 1,589 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 14 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Mining with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + TradingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + EconomyFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + NatureFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Diggles: The Myth of Fenris | older | $9.99 | 619 89% | 19k | $186k (exactly $185,514) | Spieleentwicklungskombinat GmbH, Genera… (Spieleentwicklungskombinat GmbH, General Arcade) |
| | Dungeon Digger | older | $39.99 | 98 81% | 2.9k | $118k (exactly $117,571) | Galactic Geckon |
| | ScrewUp | older | $9.99 | 259 68% | 7.8k | $78k (exactly $77,622) | 199 Cents STUDIO |
| | Digs TD | older | $19.99 | 76 67% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $45,577) | Digs Team |
| | The Sealed Ampoule | older | $19.99 | 56 80% | 1.7k | $34k (exactly $33,583) | CAVYHOUSE |
| | Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs The Thrilling Steamy Maze Kiwami | older | $29.99 | 23 56% | 690 | $21k (exactly $20,693) | FURYU CORPORATION |
| | No Parachute | older | $4.99 | 116 89% | 3.5k | $17k (exactly $17,365) | Wherry |
| | Abyss: New Dawn | · EA | $24.99 | 19 63% | 570 | $14k (exactly $14,244) | Aloya Productions |
| | Digging the Forgotten Cave | $4.99 | 54 75% | 1.6k | $8.1k (exactly $8,084) | Cavernauts | |
| | 100 hidden gnomes | older | $0.99 | 269 79% | 8.1k | $8.0k (exactly $7,989) | Anatoliy Loginovskikh, Drop_Dead_Fred |
| | DOWNMOUSE | $3.99 | 25 92% | 750 | $3.0k (exactly $2,992) | WobblyHandStudio | |
| | Terra Pit | $2.00 | 36 86% | 1.1k | $2.2k (exactly $2,160) | S-Grade, Yuliy Oneshko | |
| | Dark Mine | $2.99 | 11 81% | 330 | $987 (exactly $987) | Cyber752 | |
| | Digger Beach | $4.99 | 6 66% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | Makatski | |
| | A Pirate Game About Digging For Treasure And Getting Drunk | $3.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $359 (exactly $359) | Benito Moises Monagas Rosario | |
| | Gatherlands | · EA | $1.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Bugurca Game Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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