Do I ship it?

GamesBuildingBuilding + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Building game?

Building + Cats

Of 52 developers who shipped a Cat Building 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.. 59 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×7.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $900. Revenue is flat on the market; 59 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.2 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 59 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 52
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.4k → $5.1k → $1.1k → $5.1k → $25k → $3.2k → $1.9k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 52
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,496)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $24,875)
Top 5% $666k (exactly $665,734)
Developers, 2 yr 52
Released games 106
Announced 59
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 flat on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Sandbox
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, Cozy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 34,157 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $24k, 1 in 20 over $660k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  3. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  4. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  5. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  6. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  7. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  10. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  11. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds32 devs · median $51k · 75 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
inZOI · EA $39.99 30,020 77% 901k $36M (exactly $36,014,994) inZOI Studio
while True: learn() older $12.99 7,350 91% 221k $2.9M (exactly $2,864,295) Luden.io
Animal Shelter older $19.99 3,642 87% 109k $2.2M (exactly $2,184,107) Games Incubator
STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town older $39.99 1,357 82% 41k $1.6M (exactly $1,627,993) Marvelous Inc.
Cat Cafe Manager older $19.99 2,174 87% 65k $1.3M (exactly $1,303,748) Roost Games
Calico older $11.99 3,238 88% 97k $1.2M (exactly $1,164,709) Peachy Keen Games
Minami Lane older $4.99 6,089 97% 183k $912k (exactly $911,523) Blibloop, Doot
Bookshop Simulator $15.99 1,496 92% 45k $718k (exactly $717,631) Blep Games
Snacko $24.99 888 95% 27k $666k (exactly $665,734) Bluecurse Studios
Everdream Valley older $24.99 708 70% 21k $531k (exactly $530,788) Mooneaters
Learning Factory $14.99 390 84% 12k $175k (exactly $175,383) Luden.io
Cozy Keep: Farm, Craft, Manage · EA $14.99 315 93% 9.5k $142k (exactly $141,656) Unbossed Games
Catizens $17.77 214 81% 6.4k $114k (exactly $114,083) badopticsgames
Desk Paws $5.99 463 86% 14k $83k (exactly $83,201) GinkgoGames
Everdream Village · EA $19.99 107 69% 3.2k $64k (exactly $64,168) Mooneaters
MilkTea Time $11.99 114 82% 3.4k $41k (exactly $41,006) 星九猫游戏-StarNineCat Games
Puzzling Places - 3D Jigsaw Sim $7.99 150 98% 4.5k $36k (exactly $35,955) Realities.io Inc

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