Games › Mining › Mining + Science
Should I ship a Science Mining game?
Mining + Science
Only 18 developers shipped a Science Mining game 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, Space Engineers 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 11 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $19k, ×39 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $5.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $4.5M, ×9650 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 11 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $5.3k (exactly $5,273) |
|---|---|
| Median | $19k (exactly $18,742) |
| Top 25% | $90k (exactly $89,955) |
| Top 5% | $4.6M (exactly $4,583,972) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 33 |
| Announced | 11 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 160% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Strategy, Management
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 13,775 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $5.3k. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 11 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
ICARUS 2021 · $59M 
Stationeers 2017 · EA · $9.0M 
Space Engineers 2 2025 · EA · $4.6M 
SpaceBourne 2 2025 · $3.0M 
The Last Starship 2026 · $973k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ICARUS | older | $34.99 | 55,849 75% | 1.7M | $59M (exactly $58,624,695) | RocketWerkz |
| | Stationeers | · EA older | $34.99 | 8,597 88% | 258k | $9.0M (exactly $9,024,271) | RocketWerkz |
| | Space Engineers 2 | · EA | $29.99 | 5,095 74% | 153k | $4.6M (exactly $4,583,972) | Keen Software House |
| | SpaceBourne 2 | $19.99 | 4,951 75% | 149k | $3.0M (exactly $2,969,115) | Burak Dabak | |
| | The Last Starship | $19.99 | 1,623 75% | 49k | $973k (exactly $973,313) | Introversion Software | |
 | Solar Expanse - Space Exploration Manager | · EA | $17.99 | 1,252 87% | 38k | $676k (exactly $675,704) | SpaceOps |
 | Mercury Fallen | older | $24.99 | 255 80% | 7.7k | $191k (exactly $191,174) | Nitrous Butterfly |
 | MegaFactory Titan | $19.99 | 150 76% | 4.5k | $90k (exactly $89,955) | Q Switched Productions, LLC | |
 | Space Architect | $9.99 | 294 73% | 8.8k | $88k (exactly $88,112) | Albert Wiatr | |
 | I Fetch Rocks | $15.99 | 110 94% | 3.3k | $53k (exactly $52,767) | SarumXR | |
 | Snacktorio | $7.99 | 215 90% | 6.5k | $52k (exactly $51,536) | ellraiser | |
 | RigidGems Museum | $24.99 | 25 96% | 750 | $19k (exactly $18,742) | FerioWorks | |
 | Last Breath | · EA | $7.99 | 60 81% | 1.8k | $14k (exactly $14,382) | Mx |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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