Do I ship it?

GamesMiningMining + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Platformer?

Mining + Platformer

Of 31 developers who shipped a Mining Platformer 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.. 36 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $800, ×1.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×355 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 36 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 36 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.7k → $7.2k → $802 → $1.5k → $299 (still earning) → $3.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $802 (exactly $802)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 5% $168k (exactly $168,389)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 80
Announced 36
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 35% on the market, supply 110% 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.

Mining
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Mining, Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Crafting
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 3,351 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $800, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FarmingStrong odds18 devs · median $22k · 15 announced
  2. + TradingFair32 devs · median $12k · 33 announced
  3. + DwarvesFair17 devs · median $9.6k · 26 announced
  4. + Tower DefenseFair33 devs · median $6.3k · 45 announced
  5. + EconomyFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  6. + AutomationFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  7. + Turn-Based StrategyFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  9. + NatureFair42 devs · median $2.4k · 49 announced
  10. + IdlerFair136 devs · median $2.3k · 185 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair63 devs · median $2.1k · 53 announced

All 91 pairs on the Mining page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SteamWorld Dig 2 older $19.99 5,700 95% 171k $3.4M (exactly $3,418,290) Image & Form Games
SteamWorld Dig older $9.99 6,509 94% 195k $2.0M (exactly $1,950,747) Image & Form Games
Planet Centauri $14.99 2,102 75% 63k $945k (exactly $945,269) Permadeath
Zad Archery $6.99 803 73% 24k $168k (exactly $168,389) Samharia Studios
Everdeep Aurora $19.99 177 89% 5.3k $106k (exactly $106,147) Nautilus Games
Dwarf Journey older $9.99 323 92% 9.7k $97k (exactly $96,803) Orube Game Studio
Ad Fundum older $6.99 429 93% 13k $90k (exactly $89,961) Oldbut Gold
Miner: Dig Deep older $6.99 242 91% 7.3k $51k (exactly $50,747) Substance Games
Something Ate My Alien older $16.99 40 87% 1.2k $20k (exactly $20,388) Rokabium Games
Miner Meltdown older $6.99 90 67% 2.7k $19k (exactly $18,873) Mighty Pebble Games Inc
Stretcher Together $4.99 116 47% 3.5k $17k (exactly $17,365) Goosix Games
LURRUNA - The Island of Towering Automatons $9.99 25 100% 750 $7.5k (exactly $7,492) PD_CGT
Cat Clean Ocean $7.99 30 70% 900 $7.2k (exactly $7,191) AGE Zero
DigWorld $4.99 43 81% 1.3k $6.4k (exactly $6,437) Edgar IX
DIGGERGUN $9.99 20 90% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Kabloop
MINERALS: Deep Core Mining $6.99 23 78% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) THINK & FEEL
Gem Venture $11.99 12 66% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,316) Jetrosoft

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