Games › Puzzle › Puzzle + Animals
Should I ship an Animal Puzzle game?
Puzzle + Animals
Of 59 developers who shipped an Animal Puzzle 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.. 107 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×553 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 107 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,436) |
| Top 25% | $9.3k (exactly $9,300) |
| Top 5% | $263k (exactly $262,542) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 59 |
| Released games | 148 |
| Announced | 107 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $2.99 |
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 25% on the market, supply 265% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure
- Price point
- $2.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 6,535 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 6 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 107 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Medical SimFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + VampiresFair
- + CatsFair
- + DemonsFair
- + God GameFair
- + RomanceFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + LemmingsFair
Comparable games
Spirit of the North 2020 · $3.4M 
Ghost of a Tale 2018 · $2.5M 
OPUS: Prism Peak 2026 · $803k 
Seasons after Fall 2016 · $712k 
The Spirit and the Mouse 2022 · $480k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 |
| | OPUS: Prism Peak | $24.99 | 1,071 92% | 32k | $803k (exactly $802,929) | SIGONO INC. | |
| | Seasons after Fall | older | $9.99 | 2,376 80% | 71k | $712k (exactly $712,087) | Swing Swing Submarine |
| | The Spirit and the Mouse | older | $19.99 | 801 97% | 24k | $480k (exactly $480,360) | Alblune |
 | A Webbing Journey | · EA | $9.99 | 1,263 98% | 38k | $379k (exactly $378,521) | Fire Totem Games |
 | Toki Tori 2+ | older | $14.99 | 749 87% | 22k | $337k (exactly $336,825) | Two Tribes |
 | Sort Them Ducks | $5.99 | 1,461 92% | 44k | $263k (exactly $262,542) | Mr.Duck | |
 | Horticular: Build a Garden, Attract Wildlife | older | $19.99 | 391 88% | 12k | $234k (exactly $234,483) | inDirection Games |
 | Dark Pals: The 1st Floor | $6.70 | 700 87% | 21k | $141k (exactly $140,700) | Skunx Games | |
 | Abra-Cooking-Dabra | $12.99 | 250 75% | 7.5k | $97k (exactly $97,425) | Door 407 | |
 | Scary Game 2: The Mad Shepherd | $1.99 | 1,227 90% | 37k | $73k (exactly $73,252) | KanGames | |
 | Moses & Plato - Last Train to Clawville | $19.99 | 104 88% | 3.1k | $62k (exactly $62,369) | The Wild Gentlemen | |
 | Hidden in my Paradise | $9.99 | 160 90% | 4.8k | $48k (exactly $47,952) | Ogre Pixel | |
 | Travellin Cats Around the World 2 | $4.99 | 236 97% | 7.1k | $35k (exactly $35,329) | Travellin Cats | |
 | Nekokami - The Human Restoration Project | $17.99 | 63 96% | 1.9k | $34k (exactly $34,001) | Rocket-in-Bottle |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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