Games › Arcade › Arcade + Shop Keeper
Should I ship a Shop Keeper Arcade game?
Arcade + Shop Keeper
Of 47 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper 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.. 70 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $94k, ×198 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 70 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $628 (exactly $628) |
| Top 25% | $7.3k (exactly $7,253) |
| Top 5% | $94k (exactly $94,153) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 47 |
| Released games | 52 |
| Announced | 70 |
| 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 90% on the market, supply 225% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Arcade, Shop Keeper; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 4,319 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 7 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 70 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
The Chef's Shift 2025 · $759k 
Budgie's Bug Shop 2026 · $183k 
Crime Shop Simulator: A Prison Boss Game 2025 · $94k 
Happy Endings 2026 · $90k 
Tech Store Simulator 2024 · $31k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Chef's Shift | $12.99 | 1,948 97% | 58k | $759k (exactly $759,136) | Panitia GameDev | |
| | Budgie's Bug Shop | $5.99 | 1,016 96% | 30k | $183k (exactly $182,575) | Moon Lagoon | |
| | Crime Shop Simulator: A Prison Boss Game | $19.99 | 157 85% | 4.7k | $94k (exactly $94,153) | TREBUCHET | |
| | Happy Endings | $6.99 | 429 86% | 13k | $90k (exactly $89,961) | Late Night Studios | |
| | Tech Store Simulator | $9.99 | 103 61% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $30,869) | Astrasoft | |
 | Just Keep Fishing | $6.99 | 140 84% | 4.2k | $29k (exactly $29,358) | Set Sail Games | |
 | Parcel Delivery Simulator | $6.99 | 114 61% | 3.4k | $24k (exactly $23,906) | Digital Melody | |
 | I Sell Lemonade | $13.99 | 56 67% | 1.7k | $24k (exactly $23,503) | EBS, Picklebyte | |
 | Luckyest | $2.99 | 252 78% | 7.6k | $23k (exactly $22,604) | Mobmonks | |
 | Supurr Cat Cafe: Sandwich Rush | $5.99 | 104 100% | 3.1k | $19k (exactly $18,689) | 2 Nerdy Nerds |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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