Games › Economy › Economy + Animals
Should I ship an Animal Economy game?
Economy + Animals
Only 18 developers shipped an Animal Economy game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 56 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.8k, ×6.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $460k, ×745 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 56 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.8k (exactly $3,775) |
| Top 25% | $9.7k (exactly $9,730) |
| Top 5% | $468k (exactly $468,138) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 40 |
| Announced | 56 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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: too few recent games to read.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Idler, Management
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cozy, Relaxing, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 2,214 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 56 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Planet Zoo 2019 · $110M 
Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm 2023 · $31M 
Prehistoric Kingdom 2022 · EA · $5.1M 
Bear and Breakfast 2022 · $2.7M 
Let's Build a Zoo 2021 · $2.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Planet Zoo | older | $44.99 | 81,191 90% | 2.4M | $110M (exactly $109,583,493) | Frontier Developments |
| | Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm | older | $24.99 | 40,862 79% | 1.2M | $31M (exactly $30,634,241) | Toxic Dog |
| | Prehistoric Kingdom | · EA older | $29.99 | 5,640 90% | 169k | $5.1M (exactly $5,074,308) | Blue Meridian |
| | Bear and Breakfast | older | $19.99 | 4,574 89% | 137k | $2.7M (exactly $2,743,028) | Gummy Cat |
| | 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 |
 | Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts | $14.99 | 1,041 97% | 31k | $468k (exactly $468,138) | Yaza Games | |
 | Happy Sheepies | older | $19.99 | 561 85% | 17k | $336k (exactly $336,432) | Berker Games |
 | Farm to Table | · EA | $14.99 | 645 91% | 19k | $290k (exactly $290,056) | indieGiant |
 | Moose Miners | older | $9.99 | 518 69% | 16k | $155k (exactly $155,245) | Lingon Studios |
 | 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 | |
 | Cafe Cafe: Idle Bird Collector | $4.99 | 65 92% | 2.0k | $9.7k (exactly $9,730) | CHONKSOFT | |
 | Plump! Dumb Frog Pond | $7.99 | 30 96% | 900 | $7.2k (exactly $7,191) | FHNBHJ | |
 | Moose Diver | $4.99 | 48 83% | 1.4k | $7.2k (exactly $7,186) | Lingon Studios | |
 | Agraria | $12.99 | 12 83% | 360 | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) | Possibly Huge | |
 | Pebble For A Queen | $6.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $3.8k (exactly $3,775) | Mangus | |
 | ARC Aquarium | $4.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) | ACA Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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