Do I ship it?

GamesMiningMining + Roguelite

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Roguelite?

Mining + Roguelite

Of 58 developers who shipped a Mining Roguelite 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.. 116 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 $4.5k, ×9.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $490k, ×1045 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 116 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 116 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + Roguelite
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 58
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.0k → $5.8k → $1.6k → $359 → $4.2k → $5.4k → $6.1k (still earning) → $4.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + Roguelite: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 58
Bottom 30% $1.7k (exactly $1,678)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,497)
Top 25% $44k (exactly $43,827)
Top 5% $497k (exactly $496,552)
Developers, 2 yr 58
Released games 100
Announced 116
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 85% on the market, supply 245% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Roguelite
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, Roguelite; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Resource Management, Roguelike, Strategy
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 9,004 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.7k, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $43k, 1 in 20 over $490k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 6 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

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
UnderMine older $19.99 9,284 90% 279k $5.6M (exactly $5,567,615) Thorium
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
(the) Gnorp Apologue older $6.99 9,613 94% 288k $2.0M (exactly $2,015,846) Myco
Lumencraft older $19.99 1,086 75% 33k $651k (exactly $651,274) 2Dynamic Games
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
Coal LLC $14.99 1,343 92% 40k $604k (exactly $603,947) Bye Bye Ocean
UnderMine 2 · EA $19.99 828 75% 25k $497k (exactly $496,552) Thorium
Galactic Mining Corp older $12.99 868 84% 26k $338k (exactly $338,260) Windybeard
Dwarf Eats Mountain $9.99 1,114 80% 33k $334k (exactly $333,866) Green Wizard
Swarm Grinder older $7.99 1,163 76% 35k $279k (exactly $278,771) Last Bite Games
Ocean Keeper: Dome Survival $9.99 826 77% 25k $248k (exactly $247,552) RetroStyle Games
Stonewards · EA $9.99 806 94% 24k $242k (exactly $241,558) Banana Tiger Studio
FROGGY HATES SNOW $14.99 456 91% 14k $205k (exactly $205,063) CRYING BRICK
Hole Is Mine $7.99 741 90% 22k $178k (exactly $177,618) Incrementalist
Zad Archery $6.99 803 73% 24k $168k (exactly $168,389) Samharia Studios
Hold The Mine · EA $14.99 338 83% 10k $152k (exactly $151,999) Hookaria Games

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