Do I ship it?

Games › Action › Action + Animals

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Animal Action game?

Action + Animals

Of 72 developers who shipped an Animal Action 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.. 222 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $94k, ×150 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 222 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 222 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Animals
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 72
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.8k → $479 → $41k → $15k → $1.8k (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Animals: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 72
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $7.2k (exactly $7,198)
Top 5% $94k (exactly $94,406)
Developers, 2 yr 72
Released games 128
Announced 222
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 95% on the market, supply 520% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

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

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Animals
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Arcade, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 11,424 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 $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $94k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 222 games are announced against 62 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

LOST EMBER 2019 · $3.8M Ghost of a Tale 2018 · $2.5M Owlboy 2016 · $2.2M Everything is Crab: The Animal Evolution Roguelite 2026 · $2.1M Tooth and Tail 2017 · $1.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
LOST EMBER older $29.99 4,198 87% 126k $3.8M (exactly $3,776,941) Mooneye Studios
Ghost of a Tale older $19.99 4,214 91% 126k $2.5M (exactly $2,527,136) SeithCG
Owlboy older $19.99 3,679 85% 110k $2.2M (exactly $2,206,296) D-Pad Studio
Everything is Crab: The Animal Evolution Roguelite $9.99 6,876 76% 206k $2.1M (exactly $2,060,737) Odd Dreams Digital
Tooth and Tail older $19.99 2,887 82% 87k $1.7M (exactly $1,731,334) Pocketwatch Games
Islets older $19.99 1,831 95% 55k $1.1M (exactly $1,098,051) Kyle Thompson
Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch older $29.99 874 62% 26k $786k (exactly $786,338) Aesir Interactive
Omelet You Cook $14.99 1,523 97% 46k $685k (exactly $684,893) Dan Schumacher, Hjalte Tagmose
Ratz Instagib older $8.99 2,529 90% 76k $682k (exactly $682,071) Lino Slahuschek
BROK the InvestiGator older $19.99 985 97% 30k $591k (exactly $590,704) COWCAT
Zefyr: A Thief's Melody $19.99 401 96% 12k $240k (exactly $240,480) Oneiric Worlds
Maze Mice $9.99 315 88% 9.5k $94k (exactly $94,406) TrampolineTales
Frog Sqwad 🐸 $7.99 352 72% 11k $84k (exactly $84,374) Panic Stations
Huntsman $12.99 195 58% 5.9k $76k (exactly $75,992) OnTheHouse Studios
King of Bones $7.99 316 85% 9.5k $76k (exactly $75,745) Gluten Free Games
Scary Game 2: The Mad Shepherd $1.99 1,227 90% 37k $73k (exactly $73,252) KanGames
Slopecrashers $17.99 82 93% 2.5k $44k (exactly $44,255) byteparrot
Only Way is Down $9.99 137 63% 4.1k $41k (exactly $41,059) Jilted Generation Productions

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