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Should I ship an AI Collectathon game?
Collectathon + Artificial Intelligence
Of 46 developers who shipped an AI Collectathon 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.. 30 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $290. Revenue is up 2940% on the market; 30 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $282 (exactly $282) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $24,284) |
| Top 5% | $489k (exactly $488,920) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 46 |
| Released games | 93 |
| Announced | 30 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 up 2940% on the market, supply 565% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Collectathon
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Artificial Intelligence
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Collectathon; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Puzzle, Hidden Object
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, Cozy
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 42,717 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $290. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Collectathon with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + ManagementFair
- + CrimeFair
- + Level EditorFair
- + SokobanFair
- + MythologyFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + ModernFair
Comparable games
INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road 2025 · $23M 
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! 2026 · $4.4M 
SimplePlanes 2015 · $3.8M 
Supermarket Chaos 2026 · $489k 
Sort Them Ducks 2026 · $263k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road | $69.99 | 11,180 88% | 335k | $23M (exactly $23,474,646) | LEVEL5 Inc. | |
| | Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! | $5.99 | 24,497 94% | 735k | $4.4M (exactly $4,402,111) | ArtRising | |
| | SimplePlanes | older | $12.99 | 9,811 93% | 294k | $3.8M (exactly $3,823,347) | Jundroo, LLC |
| | Supermarket Chaos | $4.99 | 3,266 92% | 98k | $489k (exactly $488,920) | BunnyHop | |
| | Sort Them Ducks | $5.99 | 1,461 92% | 44k | $263k (exactly $262,542) | Mr.Duck | |
 | Cellar Keeper | $4.99 | 892 89% | 27k | $134k (exactly $133,532) | EgoTrampoline | |
 | TV Archive: Tidy Up Together | $4.99 | 544 71% | 16k | $81k (exactly $81,437) | Games Together | |
 | TCG Multiplayer Card Shop Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 198 54% | 5.9k | $77k (exactly $77,161) | Alkame Games |
 | Megastore: Tidy Up Together | $5.99 | 326 91% | 9.8k | $59k (exactly $58,582) | Yolo Games Studio | |
 | I Need to Fix My Dream Car (But I Work at a Junkyard) | $12.99 | 110 82% | 3.3k | $43k (exactly $42,867) | GameFactory, Kai | |
 | Mall: Tidy Up Together | $4.99 | 243 69% | 7.3k | $36k (exactly $36,377) | Games Together |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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