Do I ship it?

Games › Adventure › Adventure + Animals

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Animal Adventure game?

Adventure + Animals

Of 64 developers who shipped an Animal Adventure 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.. 200 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×6.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×797 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 200 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 200 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Animals
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 64
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $39k → $30k → $7.8k → $22k → $20k → $6.5k (still earning) → $360 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Animals: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 64
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $2.9k (exactly $2,878)
Top 25% $29k (exactly $28,776)
Top 5% $379k (exactly $378,521)
Developers, 2 yr 64
Released games 142
Announced 200
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.00

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 80% on the market, supply 290% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Adventure
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Adventure; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Puzzle, 3D Platformer
Price point
$7.00 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Family Friendly, Relaxing, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.00.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,008 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.9k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 4 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 200 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SamuraiFair13 devs · median $261k · 14 announced
  2. + FMVFair144 devs · median $39k · 151 announced
  3. + PinballFair11 devs · median $8.1k · 17 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair40 devs · median $6.3k · 50 announced
  5. + Escape RoomFair165 devs · median $2.2k · 151 announced
  6. + Mini GolfFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 11 announced
  7. + SportsFair228 devs · median $1.5k · 224 announced
  8. + GolfFair18 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair384 devs · median $1.2k · 420 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair33 devs · median $599 · 33 announced
  11. + Traditional RoguelikeFair89 devs · median $449 · 119 announced
  12. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds10 devs · median $561k · 7 announced

All 279 pairs on the Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

LOST EMBER 2019 · $3.8M Spirit of the North 2020 · $3.4M Ghost of a Tale 2018 · $2.5M Owlboy 2016 · $2.2M The First Tree 2017 · $1.4M
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
Spirit of the North older $19.99 5,633 84% 169k $3.4M (exactly $3,378,110) Infuse Studio
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
The First Tree older $9.99 4,763 77% 143k $1.4M (exactly $1,427,471) David Wehle
Islets older $19.99 1,831 95% 55k $1.1M (exactly $1,098,051) Kyle Thompson
Meadow - A Shelter Game older $6.99 5,060 90% 152k $1.1M (exactly $1,061,082) Might and Delight
OPUS: Prism Peak $24.99 1,071 92% 32k $803k (exactly $802,929) SIGONO INC.
Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch older $29.99 874 62% 26k $786k (exactly $786,338) Aesir Interactive
Seasons after Fall older $9.99 2,376 80% 71k $712k (exactly $712,087) Swing Swing Submarine
Herdling $24.99 871 93% 26k $653k (exactly $652,989) Okomotive
The Ranchers · EA $24.99 547 57% 16k $410k (exactly $410,086) The Ranchers
A Webbing Journey · EA $9.99 1,263 98% 38k $379k (exactly $378,521) Fire Totem Games
Zefyr: A Thief's Melody $19.99 401 96% 12k $240k (exactly $240,480) Oneiric Worlds
Exotica 2: Pet Shop Simulator $14.99 529 75% 16k $238k (exactly $237,891) Konrul Game
Dark Pals: The 1st Floor $6.70 700 87% 21k $141k (exactly $140,700) Skunx Games
Virtual Hunter $24.99 173 71% 5.2k $130k (exactly $129,698) Korpi Games Oy
LOST EMBER: Rekindled Edition $29.99 101 77% 3.0k $91k (exactly $90,870) Mooneye Studios
Frog Sqwad 🐸 $7.99 352 72% 11k $84k (exactly $84,374) Panic Stations

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