Games › Automation › Automation + Cats
Should I ship a Cat Automation game?
Automation + Cats
Of 32 developers who shipped a Cat Automation 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.. 48 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.7k, ×6.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×279 the market median. Revenue is up 105% on the market; 48 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.7k (exactly $3,742) |
| Top 25% | $21k (exactly $21,180) |
| Top 5% | $175k (exactly $175,383) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 45 |
| Announced | 48 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 105% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Automation
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Cats
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Automation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Creature Collector
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 4,827 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 7 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Automation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + Female ProtagonistStrong odds
- + Open World Survival CraftFair
- + HorrorFair
- + HistoricalFair
- + UndergroundFair
- + Class-BasedFair
- + MiningFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + FishingFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsFair
Comparable games
Maltese's Fluffy Onsen 2025 · $490k 
Learning Factory 2025 · $175k 
Batomon Showdown 2026 · $147k 
Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator - Akihabara 2026 · EA · $141k 
Desk Paws 2025 · $83k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Maltese's Fluffy Onsen | $5.99 | 2,727 94% | 82k | $490k (exactly $490,042) | Sinkhole Studio, Moonlab Studio | |
| | Learning Factory | $14.99 | 390 84% | 12k | $175k (exactly $175,383) | Luden.io | |
| | Batomon Showdown | $14.99 | 327 87% | 9.8k | $147k (exactly $147,052) | berrymint | |
| | Gacha Capsule Shop Simulator - Akihabara | · EA | $12.40 | 379 82% | 11k | $141k (exactly $140,988) | UGC90 |
| | Desk Paws | $5.99 | 463 86% | 14k | $83k (exactly $83,201) | GinkgoGames | |
 | Fluffy Kitchen Saga | $6.99 | 221 64% | 6.6k | $46k (exactly $46,344) | MEOW STORE GAME | |
 | Boba Simulator : Idle Shop Management | · EA older | $3.99 | 317 84% | 9.5k | $38k (exactly $37,945) | Cuddle Code |
 | Internet Cafe Owner | older | $5.99 | 148 72% | 4.4k | $27k (exactly $26,596) | GidAzGames |
 | Desktop Cat Cafe | $9.99 | 83 75% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $24,875) | samyam, lockyaw | |
 | Cats Are Money | $6.99 | 101 92% | 3.0k | $21k (exactly $21,180) | DеM Games, Room Games | |
 | Neko Station | $6.99 | 100 88% | 3.0k | $21k (exactly $20,970) | Sunny Syrup Studio, SECRET CHARACTER | |
 | Mistpaw Ravine | $15.99 | 36 94% | 1.1k | $17k (exactly $17,269) | Jon Nielsen |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.