Games › Crafting › Crafting + Artificial Intelligence
Should I ship an AI Crafting game?
Crafting + Artificial Intelligence
Of 46 developers who shipped an AI Crafting 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, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×9.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.9M, ×4728 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 107 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) |
| Top 25% | $37k (exactly $37,154) |
| Top 5% | $3.0M (exactly $2,969,115) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 46 |
| Released games | 111 |
| Announced | 107 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Crafting
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Artificial Intelligence
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Crafting; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Building
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 23,625 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 107 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
Horizon Zero Dawn™ Remastered 2024 · $10M 
From the Depths 2020 · $8.3M 
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs 2026 · $5.5M 
SpaceBourne 2 2025 · $3.0M 
Fantasy Map Simulator 2024 · EA · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Horizon Zero Dawn™ Remastered | $49.99 | 6,860 84% | 206k | $10M (exactly $10,287,942) | Guerrilla Games, Nixxes Software | |
| | From the Depths | older | $24.99 | 11,059 89% | 332k | $8.3M (exactly $8,290,932) | Brilliant Skies Ltd. |
| | ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs | $19.99 | 9,209 95% | 276k | $5.5M (exactly $5,522,637) | Mandragora | |
| | SpaceBourne 2 | $19.99 | 4,951 75% | 149k | $3.0M (exactly $2,969,115) | Burak Dabak | |
| | Fantasy Map Simulator | · EA older | $7.99 | 4,190 89% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) | The Stranger |
 | Beer Factory | older | $18.99 | 1,410 40% | 42k | $803k (exactly $803,277) | MyceliumGames |
 | Shawarma Legend | older | $2.99 | 7,210 92% | 216k | $647k (exactly $646,737) | Eyad Alshafei |
 | Main Assembly | older | $19.99 | 1,004 83% | 30k | $602k (exactly $602,099) | Bad Yolk Games |
 | Wayward Terran Frontier: Zero Falls | · EA older | $29.99 | 487 66% | 15k | $438k (exactly $438,154) | Reason Generator Inc. |
 | Chocolate Factory Simulator | $19.99 | 355 72% | 11k | $213k (exactly $212,893) | Games Incubator | |
 | Learning Factory | $14.99 | 390 84% | 12k | $175k (exactly $175,383) | Luden.io | |
 | C.A.S.T. (CHERNOZEM ANOMALY STRIKE TEAM) | $6.99 | 777 87% | 23k | $163k (exactly $162,937) | BRAIN DOES (NOT) WORK | |
 | Astroloot | · EA | $6.99 | 587 92% | 18k | $123k (exactly $123,094) | Andreas Hager Gaming |
 | WorldNeverland - Daily Life in the Elnea Kingdom - Another Life Adventure | $29.99 | 92 78% | 2.8k | $83k (exactly $82,772) | althi Inc. | |
 | Night Rolls Cozy Store | $9.99 | 244 89% | 7.3k | $73k (exactly $73,127) | Polytale Games | |
 | Dino Ramen Express | · EA | $14.99 | 160 72% | 4.8k | $72k (exactly $71,952) | ANTIGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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