Do I ship it?

GamesActionAction + Collectathon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Collectathon Action game?

Action + Collectathon

Of 433 developers who shipped a Collectathon 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.. 606 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×449 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 606 games are announced against 235 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 606 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Collectathon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 433
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $2.2k → $898 → $599 → $1.4k → $719 → $449 (still earning) → $360 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Collectathon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 433
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,397)
Top 5% $282k (exactly $281,859)
Developers, 2 yr 433
Released games 1,215
Announced 606
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 flat on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Collectathon
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Collectathon; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 38,429 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $600, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 244 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 606 games are announced against 235 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different second tag, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
A Hat in Time older $29.99 42,863 97% 1.3M $39M (exactly $38,563,841) Gears for Breakfast
INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road $69.99 11,180 88% 335k $23M (exactly $23,474,646) LEVEL5 Inc.
Spyro™ Reignited Trilogy older $39.99 14,211 92% 426k $17M (exactly $17,048,937) Toys for Bob, Iron Galaxy Studios
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated older $29.99 14,439 94% 433k $13M (exactly $12,990,768) Purple Lamp
LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame older $19.99 12,850 89% 386k $7.7M (exactly $7,706,145) Traveller's Tales
Supraland older $19.99 12,376 95% 371k $7.4M (exactly $7,421,887) Supra Games
LEGO® DC Super-Villains older $39.99 5,798 91% 174k $7.0M (exactly $6,955,861) TT Games, Feral Interactive (Mac)
Pumpkin Jack older $29.99 7,416 91% 222k $6.7M (exactly $6,672,175) Evil Raptor
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land $69.99 2,534 64% 76k $5.3M (exactly $5,320,640) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Crash Bandicoot™ 4: It’s About Time older $39.99 3,985 86% 120k $4.8M (exactly $4,780,804) Toys for Bob, Beenox, Activision Shangh… (Toys for Bob, Beenox, Activision Shanghai, Hardsuit Labs, Iron Galaxy Studios)
Shelldiver $4.99 16,806 98% 504k $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) Gagonfe
SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide $39.99 1,151 93% 35k $1.4M (exactly $1,380,855) Purple Lamp
Supraworld · EA $29.99 1,471 91% 44k $1.3M (exactly $1,323,459) Supra Games
Yooka-Replaylee $29.99 1,045 92% 31k $940k (exactly $940,186) Playtonic Games
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection $39.99 657 96% 20k $788k (exactly $788,203) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Duskfade $29.99 793 91% 24k $713k (exactly $713,462) Weird Beluga
Metal Bringer $19.99 1,109 87% 33k $665k (exactly $665,067) ALPHAWING Inc.
Funi Raccoon Game $11.99 1,683 99% 50k $605k (exactly $605,375) Crayon, Kit

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