Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Creature Collector

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Creature Collector?

Building + Creature Collector

Of 86 developers who shipped a Building Creature Collector 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.. 169 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.1k, ×6.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×1996 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 169 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 169 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Creature Collector
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 86
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $5.7k → $3.8k → $9.6k → $9.3k → $3.8k → $3.2k (still earning) → $3.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Creature Collector: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 86
Bottom 30% $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Median $4.1k (exactly $4,133)
Top 25% $47k (exactly $47,426)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,253,342)
Developers, 2 yr 86
Released games 168
Announced 169
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 25% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Creature Collector
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Building, Creature Collector; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, Simulation, Crafting
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 471,279 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $4.1k, 1 in 4 over $47k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 169 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Building with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  2. + CatsFair52 devs · median $4.5k · 59 announced
  3. + TabletopFair56 devs · median $1.9k · 58 announced
  4. + Grid-Based MovementFair50 devs · median $719 · 57 announced
  5. + Interactive FictionFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced
  6. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $303k · 40 announced
  7. + JRPGPoor odds10 devs · median $89k · 20 announced
  8. + Dating SimPoor odds28 devs · median $85k · 61 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds112 devs · median $71k · 251 announced
  10. + Real-TimePoor odds14 devs · median $62k · 20 announced
  11. + CrimePoor odds13 devs · median $55k · 52 announced
  12. + SailingPoor odds13 devs · median $52k · 40 announced

All 210 pairs on the Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Palworld 2026 · $371M Slime Rancher 2 2025 · $39M WILD HEARTS™ 2023 · $22M Megaquarium 2018 · $2.6M Moonstone Island 2023 · $2.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Palworld $29.99 411,947 94% 12M $371M (exactly $370,628,716) Pocketpair
Slime Rancher 2 $29.99 43,590 94% 1.3M $39M (exactly $39,217,923) Monomi Park
WILD HEARTS™ older $69.99 10,626 48% 319k $22M (exactly $22,311,412) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Megaquarium older $24.99 3,444 95% 103k $2.6M (exactly $2,581,967) Twice Circled
Moonstone Island older $19.99 4,063 84% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,436,581) Studio Supersoft
Let's Build a Zoo older $19.99 3,722 89% 112k $2.2M (exactly $2,232,083) Springloaded
Towers of Aghasba · EA $29.99 1,904 67% 57k $1.7M (exactly $1,713,029) Dreamlit inc.
Tiny Pasture $5.99 7,055 92% 212k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) CaveLiquid
Wicked Island · EA $34.99 1,194 76% 36k $1.3M (exactly $1,253,342) RawDarkness
Planet Centauri $14.99 2,102 75% 63k $945k (exactly $945,269) Permadeath
Birdwatching Notebook $9.99 1,588 97% 48k $476k (exactly $475,924) Biekka Games
CleanFall · EA $19.99 492 92% 15k $295k (exactly $295,052) Humanyoyo
My Little Life $5.99 1,043 89% 31k $187k (exactly $187,427) 9FingerGames
Stackmon $13.99 364 75% 11k $153k (exactly $152,771) Riftpoint Entertainment

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