Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Shop Keeper

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shop Keeper Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Shop Keeper

Of 246 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper Resource Management 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.. 442 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×7.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×777 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 442 games are announced against 224 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 442 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Shop Keeper
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 246
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $217k → $22k → $7.3k → $2.4k (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Shop Keeper: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 246
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.5k (exactly $3,510)
Top 25% $30k (exactly $30,476)
Top 5% $369k (exactly $368,916)
Developers, 2 yr 246
Released games 291
Announced 442
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 85% on the market, supply 700% 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.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Shop Keeper
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
Resource Management, Shop Keeper; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 63,004 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.5k, 1 in 4 over $30k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 5 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 442 games are announced against 224 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Resource Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator 2026 · $6.0M Tiny Bookshop 2025 · $4.2M Storage Hunter Simulator 2025 · $2.9M School Days 2026 · $2.7M Grocery Store Simulator 2024 · $2.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator $19.90 10,118 95% 304k $6.0M (exactly $6,040,446) Blood Pact Studios
Tiny Bookshop $19.99 6,967 96% 209k $4.2M (exactly $4,178,110) neoludic games
Storage Hunter Simulator $24.99 3,866 78% 116k $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) Raccoons Studio
School Days $14.99 6,023 77% 181k $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) 白雨工作室
Grocery Store Simulator $14.99 5,337 90% 160k $2.4M (exactly $2,400,049) EXPERIMENT ONE
BidKing $2.99 22,238 33% 667k $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) MindSurge Network & Games
Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 older $14.99 4,018 91% 121k $1.8M (exactly $1,806,895) One More Time
Roadside Research · EA $14.99 3,991 85% 120k $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) Cybernetic Walrus
Megastore Simulator · EA $13.99 1,968 93% 59k $826k (exactly $825,970) Yolo Games Studio
Better Mart Simulator $14.99 1,238 89% 37k $557k (exactly $556,729) Exanticx Studio
Chop Chop Inc. $12.99 1,258 90% 38k $490k (exactly $490,243) NullRef Entertainment

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