ResidualPlaybetaStudy your niche
What does your genre actually earn?
Before you spend two years building it, see what games in that corner of Steam make today. Every tracked title released in the period, the failures included: no survey, no survivor bias, no self-reported numbers.
$385 per month is what the median Indie game released 2022–2026 earns today, net to the developer, across 1455 tracked titles.
Only 335 of them (23.0%) clear $2,000/month, roughly one salary before tax. The bottom tenth makes $53; the top tenth $6.7k.
Where the money actually lands
The typical game here
Your actual competition
The games sitting at the median of this niche: this is the company you would be keeping.
| Game | Developer | Year | Price | Net/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logic Bombs | Matthewmatosis | 2025 | $5 | $385 |
| Ludus Mortis | 68k Studios | 2024 | $18 | $386 |
| I'm on Observation Duty 5 | Notovia | 2022 | $10 | $384 |
| Uktena 64 - Ultimate | KIRA LLC | 2025 | $7 | $387 |
| Lihiman | Faithbulls | 2026 | $5 | $383 |
| Lost In The Open | Black Voyage Games | 2025 | $16 | $388 |
Top of the genre
Context, not competition.
| Game | Developer | Year | Price | Net/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slay the Spire 2 | Mega Crit | 2026 | $25 | $1.5M |
| ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs | Mandragora | 2026 | $20 | $1.2M |
| Cat Mail Co. | Maracas Studio | 2026 | $15 | $575.0k |
| Esports Manager 2026 | Neurona Games | 2026 | $20 | $508.1k |
| Shift At Midnight | Bun Muen | 2026 | $10 | $502.2k |
| DELTARUNE | tobyfox | 2025 | $25 | $351.3k |
| Sovereign Tower | WILD WITS GAMES | 2026 | $20 | $346.7k |
| Low-Budget Repairs | Gray2RGB | 2026 | $20 | $270.3k |
| ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies | ZA/UM | 2026 | $40 | $225.3k |
| The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian | Schisma Games | 2026 | $25 | $219.3k |
Per-title estimates carry a 30–50% error range and are much tighter in aggregate, which is why the distribution is the useful part, not any single row.
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