Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Arcade game?

Arcade + Cats

Of 151 developers who shipped a Cat Arcade 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.. 138 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $31k, ×65 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 138 games are announced against 103 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 138 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 151
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $2.2k → $955 → $449 → $1.2k → $899 → $390 (still earning) → $179 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 151
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,104)
Top 5% $31k (exactly $31,036)
Developers, 2 yr 151
Released games 364
Announced 138
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 40% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Cats
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Arcade; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 3,633 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 $450, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $31k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 62 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 138 games are announced against 103 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2021 · $6.5M Garfield Kart - Furious Racing 2019 · $4.7M Cat Goes Fishing 2015 · $3.2M Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 2023 · $1.5M Garfield Kart 2015 · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl older $49.99 4,311 75% 129k $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) Ludosity, Fair Play Labs
Garfield Kart - Furious Racing older $14.99 10,475 88% 314k $4.7M (exactly $4,710,608) Artefacts Studio
Cat Goes Fishing older $6.99 15,431 94% 463k $3.2M (exactly $3,235,881) Cat5Games
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 older $49.99 1,013 81% 30k $1.5M (exactly $1,519,196) Fair Play Labs
Garfield Kart older $4.99 9,662 88% 290k $1.4M (exactly $1,446,401) Artefacts Studio
Twin Shot Deluxe $9.99 1,167 95% 35k $350k (exactly $349,750) Nitrome Limited
StrikeForce Kitty older $9.99 1,002 89% 30k $300k (exactly $300,299) Creepy Brothers
Garfield Kart 2 - All You Can Drift $24.99 216 45% 6.5k $162k (exactly $161,935) Eden Games
Captain Whiskers: Incremental Seas $5.99 886 85% 27k $159k (exactly $159,214) Happy Universe Studios
Copy Kitty older $14.99 345 97% 10k $155k (exactly $155,146) Nuclear Strawberry
Maze Mice $9.99 315 88% 9.5k $94k (exactly $94,406) TrampolineTales
Roulette Hero $9.99 260 92% 7.8k $78k (exactly $77,922) CLLC Studio
PROJEKT GODHAND $15.80 158 96% 4.7k $75k (exactly $74,892) Anarch Entertainment
Sushi Cat Legacy Collection $4.99 263 95% 7.9k $39k (exactly $39,371) Armor Games Studios
Snap the Cat $6.99 148 93% 4.4k $31k (exactly $31,036) KORO.GAMES
Origament: A Paper Adventure $9.99 76 90% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) Space Sauce Studio
Kitty's Last Adventure $4.99 144 97% 4.3k $22k (exactly $21,557) Woum

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