Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Incremental

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Incremental game?

Incremental

Of 2,358 developers who shipped an Incremental 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.. 2,947 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 1 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $750, ×6.3 the market's $120 for a 1 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $180. Revenue is up 130% on the market; 2,947 games are announced against 1,657 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 130% on the market, 2,947 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 2,358
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $1.9k → $838 → $838 → $748 → $802 → $807 (still earning) → $839 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Incremental: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 2,358
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $5.0k (exactly $5,027)
Top 5% $111k (exactly $111,351)
Developers, 2 yr 2,358
Released games 6,115
Announced 2,947
Effort 1 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 130% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
1 / 10 · text and UI only
Systems
Incremental
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 80,701 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $750, 1 in 4 over $5.0k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 1,199 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 2,947 games are announced against 1,657 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Incremental

189 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Precision Platformer + Incremental Dead $598 11 devs
  2. Platformer + Incremental Dead $479 41 devs
  3. Physics + Incremental Dead $449 185 devs
  4. Incremental + Robots Dead $449 22 devs
  5. Tactical RPG + Incremental Dead $419 25 devs
  6. Action-Adventure + Incremental Dead $416 62 devs
  7. Walking Simulator + Incremental Dead $386 41 devs
  8. Puzzle + Incremental Dead $359 402 devs
  9. Tactical + Incremental Dead $359 87 devs
  10. Card Game + Incremental Dead $359 78 devs
  11. Incremental + Typing Dead $359 55 devs
  12. Turn-Based Tactics + Incremental Dead $359 54 devs
  13. Grid-Based Movement + Incremental Dead $359 34 devs
  14. Incremental + Science Dead $359 33 devs
  15. Wargame + Incremental Dead $359 27 devs
  16. Programming + Incremental Dead $359 24 devs
  17. Score Attack + Incremental Dead $358 133 devs
  18. Quick-Time Events + Incremental Dead $300 57 devs
  19. Incremental + Solitaire Dead $300 27 devs
  20. Incremental + Spelling Dead $300 10 devs
  21. Turn-Based Strategy + Incremental Dead $299 58 devs
  22. Sports + Incremental Dead $270 56 devs
  23. Local Co-Op + Incremental Dead $270 8 devs
  24. Logic + Incremental Dead $267 154 devs
  25. 2D Platformer + Incremental Dead $239 119 devs
  26. Tabletop + Incremental Dead $239 83 devs
  27. Rhythm + Incremental Dead $239 46 devs
  28. Real Time Tactics + Incremental Dead $239 35 devs
  29. Level Editor + Incremental Dead $239 18 devs
  30. 3D Platformer + Incremental Dead $210 33 devs
  31. Match 3 + Incremental Dead $180 52 devs
  32. Puzzle Platformer + Incremental Dead $179 52 devs
  33. RTS + Incremental Dead $179 34 devs
  34. Board Game + Incremental Dead $150 61 devs
  35. Action RTS + Incremental Dead $150 7 devs
  36. Sokoban + Incremental Dead $148 5 devs
  37. Incremental + Trivia Dead $143 32 devs
  38. Runner + Incremental Dead $59 16 devs
  39. Flight + Incremental Dead $0 9 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cookie Clicker 2021 · $13M Book of Demons 2018 · $6.0M Touhou Mystia's Izakaya 2021 · $5.3M Summer Clover 2024 · $4.9M Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cookie Clicker older $4.99 87,916 96% 2.6M $13M (exactly $13,161,025) Orteil, DashNet
Book of Demons older $24.99 8,010 91% 240k $6.0M (exactly $6,005,097) Thing Trunk
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya older $5.99 29,517 98% 886k $5.3M (exactly $5,304,205) 二色幽紫蝶, Re零同人社
Summer Clover older $17.99 9,062 97% 272k $4.9M (exactly $4,890,761) Connection
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
Moncage older $14.99 5,127 92% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,305,612) Optillusion
Dragon Cliff older $9.99 7,679 88% 230k $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) Meta Interaction
Startup Company older $12.99 5,853 81% 176k $2.3M (exactly $2,280,914) Hovgaard Games
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
Berry Bury Berry $7.99 8,619 98% 259k $2.1M (exactly $2,065,974) Get(Color) Games
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator $12.99 5,191 92% 156k $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) Aluba Van+
BitCraft Online · EA $15.99 3,334 72% 100k $1.6M (exactly $1,599,320) Clockwork Laboratories, Inc.
Love Curse: Find Your Soulmate $14.00 3,275 95% 98k $1.4M (exactly $1,375,500) Xso
How Many Dudes? $14.99 2,948 89% 88k $1.3M (exactly $1,325,716) Butterscotch Shenanigans
Tiny Pasture $5.99 7,055 92% 212k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) CaveLiquid
Keep on Mining! $4.99 8,300 93% 249k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,510) EagleEye Games

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