Do I ship it?

GamesCreature CollectorCreature Collector + Animals

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Animal Creature Collector?

Creature Collector + Animals

Of 47 developers who shipped an Animal Creature Collector 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.. 94 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $47k, ×76 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 94 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 94 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Animals
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 47
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $39k → $7.0k → $35k → $7.7k → $1.9k (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Animals: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 47
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 25% $7.7k (exactly $7,670)
Top 5% $47k (exactly $47,426)
Developers, 2 yr 47
Released games 82
Announced 94
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 down 60% on the market, supply 515% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 2%, 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.

Creature Collector
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
Creature Collector; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Collectathon, Idler
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 1,723 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $7.6k, 1 in 20 over $47k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 94 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Perma DeathFair30 devs · median $5.3k · 33 announced
  2. + Bullet HellFair24 devs · median $3.4k · 33 announced
  3. + CapitalismFair38 devs · median $3.2k · 38 announced
  4. + LootFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  5. + IdlerFair248 devs · median $2.1k · 260 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair177 devs · median $1.9k · 191 announced
  7. + Action RoguelikeFair39 devs · median $1.8k · 54 announced
  8. + SpaceFair30 devs · median $1.5k · 39 announced
  9. + ZombiesFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 10 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair73 devs · median $629 · 85 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds31 devs · median $28k · 82 announced
  12. + Dating SimPoor odds14 devs · median $23k · 43 announced

All 133 pairs on the Creature Collector page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Let's Build a Zoo older $19.99 3,722 89% 112k $2.2M (exactly $2,232,083) Springloaded
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
Zefyr: A Thief's Melody $19.99 401 96% 12k $240k (exactly $240,480) Oneiric Worlds
Horticular: Build a Garden, Attract Wildlife older $19.99 391 88% 12k $234k (exactly $234,483) inDirection Games
Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge older $19.99 230 86% 6.9k $138k (exactly $137,931) Humble Reeds
Travellin Cats Around the World older $4.99 804 97% 24k $120k (exactly $120,359) Travellin Cats
Travellin Cats in Italy older $0.99 1,792 97% 54k $53k (exactly $53,222) Travellin Cats
Nimbit Frontier · EA $13.99 113 97% 3.4k $47k (exactly $47,426) Megasploot
Bean Beasts $13.99 113 89% 3.4k $47k (exactly $47,426) Anxious Noob
Meow Palace: Forbidden City · EA $5.99 247 90% 7.4k $44k (exactly $44,386) 宫喵家族
Travellin Cats Around the World 2 $4.99 236 97% 7.1k $35k (exactly $35,329) Travellin Cats
Wildkeepers Rising $9.99 110 79% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,967) Lioncode Games
Little Aviary $3.99 231 86% 6.9k $28k (exactly $27,651) atomco
Ribbit Ranch $5.99 111 98% 3.3k $20k (exactly $19,947) Jack McAllister
Push Push $4.99 111 97% 3.3k $17k (exactly $16,617) 1ceAgain
Isekat: Crushed by a Computer, My Beloved Kitten is Transported to a Fantasy World where its Typing Skills Save the Kingdom! $9.99 50 92% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) InSpite

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