Do I ship it?

GamesProcedural GenerationProcedural Generation + Trading

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Procedural Generation Trading game?

Procedural Generation + Trading

Of 41 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation 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.. 85 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×321 the market median. Revenue is up 230% on the market; 85 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 230% on the market, 85 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Procedural Generation + Trading
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 41
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $2.2k → $2.4k → $3.0k (still earning) → $15k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Procedural Generation + Trading: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 41
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,399)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $20,093)
Top 5% $152k (exactly $152,380)
Developers, 2 yr 41
Released games 70
Announced 85
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 230% on the market, supply 140% 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.

Procedural Generation
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
Procedural Generation, Trading; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Building, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 5,253 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SnowFair11 devs · median $3.0k · 16 announced
  2. + Traditional RoguelikeFair71 devs · median $2.0k · 93 announced
  3. + DetectiveFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced
  4. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  5. + TypingFair26 devs · median $1.1k · 11 announced
  6. + IdlerFair98 devs · median $807 · 107 announced
  7. + LogicFair137 devs · median $478 · 149 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair57 devs · median $449 · 62 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair58 devs · median $418 · 56 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds31 devs · median $77k · 95 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds22 devs · median $30k · 35 announced

All 222 pairs on the Procedural Generation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
《蜀山:初章》买断版 older $24.99 5,772 74% 173k $4.3M (exactly $4,327,268) 重楼工作室
Ostranauts $19.99 3,137 77% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) Blue Bottle Games
Dealer's Life 2 older $14.99 3,994 85% 120k $1.8M (exactly $1,796,102) Abyte Entertainment
Star Traders: Frontiers older $14.99 3,672 83% 110k $1.7M (exactly $1,651,298) Trese Brothers
Slipways older $16.99 2,233 93% 67k $1.1M (exactly $1,138,160) Beetlewing
Windward older $9.99 2,668 79% 80k $800k (exactly $799,600) Tasharen Entertainment Inc.
Merchant of the Skies older $14.99 1,437 87% 43k $646k (exactly $646,219) Coldwild Games
Storage Hustle · EA older $11.99 1,508 70% 45k $542k (exactly $542,428) Broken Clock
Imperiums: Greek Wars older $29.99 453 83% 14k $408k (exactly $407,564) Kube Games
Dealer's Life older $9.99 1,257 93% 38k $377k (exactly $376,723) Abyte Entertainment
Stars Reach · EA $29.99 322 52% 9.7k $290k (exactly $289,703) Playable Worlds, Inc.
Vanguard Galaxy · EA $8.99 565 90% 17k $152k (exactly $152,380) Bat Roost Games
Project Rebearth $17.99 184 70% 5.5k $99k (exactly $99,305) Program Sam
MegaFactory Titan $19.99 150 76% 4.5k $90k (exactly $89,955) Q Switched Productions, LLC
IDLE_DIRECTIVE $4.99 505 86% 15k $76k (exactly $75,598) Kevinfu510
High Seas, High Profits! $14.99 165 86% 5.0k $74k (exactly $74,200) lexy.zip
MarginCall $14.99 111 78% 3.3k $50k (exactly $49,917) Functionally Human
BIG LOOT · EA $15.99 83 68% 2.5k $40k (exactly $39,815) Reverie Clouds
Union Of Rivals · EA $25.49 31 64% 930 $24k (exactly $23,706) 2Play

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