Do I ship it?

Games › Building › Building + Desktop Companion

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Desktop Companion?

Building + Desktop Companion

Of 27 developers who shipped a Building Desktop Companion 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.. 28 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $20k, ×31 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $530k, ×856 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 28 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 31.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 28 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Building + Desktop Companion
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $187k → $28k → $6.6k (still earning) → $3.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Building + Desktop Companion: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $3.6k (exactly $3,565)
Median $20k (exactly $19,587)
Top 25% $59k (exactly $58,682)
Top 5% $538k (exactly $537,671)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 32
Announced 28
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 down 95% on the market, supply 250% more developers than the period before.

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
Desktop Companion
effort 1 / 10 · high · effort 1 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, Desktop Companion; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Simulation, Creature Collector
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 19,415 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.6k, median $20k, 1 in 4 over $58k, 1 in 20 over $530k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.6k. 2 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Rusty's Retirement 2024 · $2.9M Tiny Pasture 2025 · $1.3M Crusaders Quest : Hero Town 2026 · $538k Ropuka's Idle Island 2025 · $485k Birdwatching Notebook 2026 · $476k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rusty's Retirement older $6.99 13,902 96% 417k $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) Mister Morris Games
Tiny Pasture $5.99 7,055 92% 212k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) CaveLiquid
Crusaders Quest : Hero Town $6.99 2,564 76% 77k $538k (exactly $537,671) CQ LABS
Ropuka's Idle Island $3.99 4,048 95% 121k $485k (exactly $484,546) Moczan, Little Chmura, Begoña Pereda
Birdwatching Notebook $9.99 1,588 97% 48k $476k (exactly $475,924) Biekka Games
How to Train Your Cock $3.99 1,875 95% 56k $224k (exactly $224,438) Little Horror Studios
My Little Life $5.99 1,043 89% 31k $187k (exactly $187,427) 9FingerGames
Plantera 2: Golden Acorn older $4.99 1,191 93% 36k $178k (exactly $178,293) VaragtP
Mushroom Nook $4.99 392 98% 12k $59k (exactly $58,682) HyperstasisGaming
Bao Bao's™ Cozy Laundromat $3.99 410 83% 12k $49k (exactly $49,077) Destroyer Doggo
Village Tale $5.99 268 81% 8.0k $48k (exactly $48,160) Knight Owl Games
Focus Grove $8.99 172 98% 5.2k $46k (exactly $46,388) Little Lantern

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