Comparison

Dev Idle vs ABYSS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Dev Idle

Tap to code and build your developer empire, from simple copy-pasting to advanced quantum compilation. Ship versions to earn reputation, unlock permanent upgrades, and eventually IPO for massive boosts. Enjoy an idle game experience with offline earnings and no ads.

Highlights
  • Tap to write code
  • Hire automated developers
  • Ship versions for reputation
  • Permanent upgrades via Lab
  • IPO for massive progress boosts
  • Offline earnings with reports
  • Live Activity for App Review countdown
Features
Read full description

You started by pasting an answer off Stack Overflow. Twelve tiers later you are running an autonomous agent fleet, a server farm and a quantum compiler, and the changelog has started calling the next one The Singularity. Dev Idle is an idle game about being an iOS developer, made by one. Tap to write code, hire the pipeline that writes it for you, then ship a version and do the whole thing again, faster. THE LOOP • BUILD — Twelve generator tiers. Every 10, 25, 50 and 100 you own doubles that tier's output, and there is no last milestone. The tap button starts out as "Write code". It does not stay there. • SHIP — Submit to App Review and bank Reputation, an income multiplier kept until you go public. Your first review takes three minutes, so you ship in your first session; after that it is thirty minutes, like the rest of us. Yes, that is the joke. • LAB — Ships pay Commits for permanent upgrades; milestones mint Pull Requests for a 16-node skill tree. A bad run still pays. • SHOP — Conference Tickets buy time, never gameplay: expedite a review, double an offline haul, or collect eight hours at once. • PASS — Four-week Sprint Pass seasons named Legacy Code, Merge Conflict, Code Freeze… Fifty tiers earned by playing: a badge at 25, a finished mark at 50, the season's accent color at premium tier 50, and a recap of what was collected for you when it ends. • RÉSUMÉ — Twelve career tracks and 59 lines, graded as you play. Most pay Conference Tickets. • IPO — Go public: trade your whole Reputation for Shares and raise the level cap on every Commit upgrade. There is a celebration. Then the horizon moves again. SOMETHING IS ALWAYS ON FIRE • Every so often, prod goes down. Tap the incident to hotfix it for a burst of income. • A daily streak you can see, a Retro voucher worth an hour of production every seventh day, and a welcome-back bonus after three days away. • #general marks your milestones, locked tiers tease what is next, and App Review keeps you posted. AN ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK Seven loops follow your company as it grows, from lo-fi and jazzy chillhop to synthwave and ambient, and your career unlocks them; one is an 8-bit bonus. Sound effects for every key moment, a jukebox, and separate switches for music, effects and haptics. Silent mode silences the game; your own music keeps playing. THINGS WE CARED ABOUT • No ads. Not between screens, not for a bonus, not ever — there is no ad code at all. • Plays offline, with a proper "while you were away" report. No account, no advertising identifier, no tracking. Your save syncs through your own iCloud. • A Live Activity counts your review down on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, and says when it is done. • Dark editor themes, because it is that kind of game, and a swag store where Commits and Pull Requests buy original color themes and tap-particle styles. • Release notes you can share as an image. • Twelve languages. • Balanced by simulation, not by vibes. Tier 4 inside two minutes; The Singularity considerably later. FREE TO PLAY, AND MEANT IT Optional purchases shorten the road. Not one of them unlocks gameplay you cannot reach by playing, because a wall you cannot climb is a game you stop opening. Dev Idle Pro — $4.99 a month in the US, with a 7-day free trial for new subscribers: ×2 income, full-rate offline earnings, a bigger daily Ticket bonus, an exclusive editor theme, and every season's premium Sprint Pass track. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of that period. Manage or cancel it in Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions. Any unused portion of the free trial is forfeited when you buy the subscription. Terms of Use: https://devidle.petrina.me/terms Privacy Policy: https://devidle.petrina.me/privacy-policy

About

ABYSS

An idle game where you deploy a fleet of drones to mine resources from six distinct underwater zones. Upgrade your equipment and automate your operations to earn more, even when offline. Complete achievements and tasks for permanent bonuses.

Highlights
  • Idle gameplay with offline progression
  • Six distinct underwater zones
  • Multiple drone classes with upgrades
  • Permanent shipyard upgrades
  • Automated resource collection
  • Achievements and tasks for bonuses
Features
Read full description

Lower a claw into dark water and let it work. ABYSS is an idle game set in a six-zone vertical water column. You start at the surface with a single scrap claw; minutes later a fleet of drones collects for you, and keeps working when the app is closed. SIX DEPTHS From the Shallows to the Hydrothermal Vents. Each zone brings its own light, colour and income multiplier. SIX DRONE CLASSES Scrap Claw, Net Skimmer, Hull Cutter, Coral Harvester, Wreck Borer and Thermal Tap. Every 25 you own doubles the tier. SURFACE, RETURN STRONGER End a dive and everything you earned becomes Cores. Permanent shipyard upgrades make the next dive faster from the first second. IT RUNS WITHOUT YOU Close the app and the drones keep going. A dive report and a pile of salvage are waiting when you return. AUTOMATION The Auto-Claw collects glints for you; the Swarm AI takes over buying. 18 achievements pay permanent bonuses and 21 tasks pull you toward the next goal. Ads are optional — the game is completable without watching any. No account, no connection required.

Screenshots

Dev Idle4 screens
ABYSS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Dev Idle at none against ABYSS's shown. ABYSS's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Dev Idle sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and ABYSS sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Dev Idle against 5.0 for ABYSS. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dev Idle ships an update monthly, ABYSS every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Dev Idle versus ABYSS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDev IdleABYSS
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB49 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperDavid PetrinaONUR SAHIN

Customer experience

Dev Idle

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ABYSS

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Dev Idle

Subscriptions1
  • Dev Idle Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
One-time9
  • Hotfix — 100 Tickets$0.99
  • Starter Pack$1.99
  • Sprint Pass Premium Track$2.99
Show 6 more
  • Monthly Card — 40 a Day$3.99
  • Sprint — 600 Tickets$4.99
  • Overtime$4.99
  • Release — 1,400 Tickets$9.99
  • Major Version — 3,200 Tickets$19.99
  • Enterprise — 9,000 Tickets$49.99
4 purchases

ABYSS

One-time4
  • Tersane Paketi$1.99
  • 250 Çekirdek$2.99
  • Derin Sözleşme$9.99
Show 1 more
  • 1500 Çekirdek$14.99

Questions

Is Dev Idle free?
Dev Idle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ABYSS free?
ABYSS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dev Idle or ABYSS?
Dev Idle and ABYSS are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Dev Idle or ABYSS have ads?
ABYSS shows ads; Dev Idle does not.
Which is updated more often, Dev Idle or ABYSS?
Dev Idle ships an update monthly, and ABYSS every 6 weeks. Most recently, Dev Idle was updated on November 6, 2026 and ABYSS on November 6, 2026.

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