Do I ship it?

GamesMiningMining + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Score Attack game?

Mining + Score Attack

Of 24 developers who shipped a Mining Score Attack 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.. 17 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 18 developers shipped in the last year and 17 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 17 announced, ×0.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $60 → $838 → $505 → $449 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $838 (exactly $838)
Top 5% $11k (exactly $11,372)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 46
Announced 17
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 60% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Score Attack
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, Score Attack; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Arcade, Automation, Destruction
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 242 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $450, 1 in 4 over $830, 1 in 20 over $11k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 17 games are announced against 18 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
BORE BLASTERS older $9.99 709 80% 21k $212k (exactly $212,487) 8BitSkull
Repetendium · EA older $5.99 220 92% 6.6k $40k (exactly $39,534) Bearlex Games
BOULDER DASH 40th Anniversary $19.99 31 83% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) BBG Entertainment GmbH
Around The Core $3.99 95 86% 2.9k $11k (exactly $11,372) draftentropy
Rift Miner $7.99 31 93% 930 $7.4k (exactly $7,431) TIDERAFT
Mining Miner · EA $4.99 20 95% 600 $3.0k (exactly $2,994) Skollheim, MTSU
Get The Gems older $2.99 23 82% 690 $2.1k (exactly $2,063) PSY LABS
Sword and Shield Idle older $2.99 22 27% 660 $2.0k (exactly $1,973) Meirad
Imperial Settlers: Imperial Miners $12.99 5 100% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) infoexpert games
The D-T.E.A.M. · EA older $9.99 6 100% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) Bottled Games Interactive
Mining And Achievements 挖矿与成就 $3.99 7 0% 210 $838 (exactly $838) 贪玩狗工作室
Mine Safety $0.99 27 100% 810 $802 (exactly $802) DIG Games
Clay Puzzle $3.99 5 100% 150 $598 (exactly $598) pheniki_games
Gold Miner: Return to Glory $0.99 17 82% 510 $505 (exactly $505) Rokito Games
Mega Roids $3.99 4 100% 120 $479 (exactly $479) PSD Labs LLC

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