Do I ship it?

GamesMiningMining + Trading

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mining Trading game?

Mining + Trading

Of 32 developers who shipped a Mining Trading 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.. 33 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $12k, ×26 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $480. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 33 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 25.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 33 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mining + Trading
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.7k → $300 → $5.4k → $81k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mining + Trading: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $12k (exactly $12,230)
Top 25% $90k (exactly $89,955)
Top 5% $379k (exactly $379,348)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 65
Announced 33
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 30% on the market, supply 440% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Trading
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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, Trading; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Economy, Resource Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 5,145 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $12k, 1 in 4 over $89k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 27 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. + DwarvesFair17 devs · median $9.6k · 26 announced
  3. + Tower DefenseFair33 devs · median $6.3k · 45 announced
  4. + EconomyFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + AutomationFair105 devs · median $4.9k · 164 announced
  6. + Turn-Based StrategyFair10 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  7. + IncrementalFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  8. + NatureFair42 devs · median $2.4k · 49 announced
  9. + IdlerFair136 devs · median $2.3k · 185 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  11. + CollectathonFair63 devs · median $2.1k · 53 announced
  12. + Point & ClickFair36 devs · median $1.9k · 39 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
Thriving City: Song older $18.99 3,054 81% 92k $1.7M (exactly $1,739,864) White Star Studio
Starminer · EA $29.99 1,818 72% 55k $1.6M (exactly $1,635,655) CoolAndGoodGames
Interstellar Rift older $19.99 1,411 66% 42k $846k (exactly $846,177) Split Polygon
Industry Giant 4.0 $24.99 506 33% 15k $379k (exactly $379,348) Don VS Dodo
Medieval Crafter: Blacksmith $11.99 745 76% 22k $268k (exactly $267,976) Compact Core Games
Crypto Miner Tycoon Simulator older $23.99 326 82% 9.8k $235k (exactly $234,622) Bigosaur
Crypto Mining Simulator older $4.99 1,419 65% 43k $212k (exactly $212,424) Satosha Nakamoti
Void Destroyer 2 older $9.99 652 80% 20k $195k (exactly $195,404) Iteration 11
Rise of Industry 2 $34.99 154 55% 4.6k $162k (exactly $161,654) SomaSim
Creator Chronicles $11.99 424 64% 13k $153k (exactly $152,513) Origin Studio
Vanguard Galaxy · EA $8.99 565 90% 17k $152k (exactly $152,380) Bat Roost Games
Medieval Horse Dealer Simulator $17.99 193 89% 5.8k $104k (exactly $104,162) One Slice of Pizza Games
MegaFactory Titan $19.99 150 76% 4.5k $90k (exactly $89,955) Q Switched Productions, LLC
Treasure Beach $9.99 271 81% 8.1k $81k (exactly $81,219) Rogue Duck Interactive
Between Adventures IDLE · EA $7.99 319 71% 9.6k $76k (exactly $76,464) Loop Forge

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