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Should I ship a Dog Building game?
Building + Dogs
Of 20 developers who shipped a Dog 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.. 27 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $24k, ×38 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×457 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 27 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) |
|---|---|
| Median | $24k (exactly $23,900) |
| Top 25% | $145k (exactly $145,368) |
| Top 5% | $287k (exactly $287,135) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 54 |
| Announced | 27 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Building; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Farming Sim, Life Sim
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Colorful, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,813 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.6k. 4 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Building with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + CatsFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Vehicular CombatPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + CrimePoor odds
- + SailingPoor odds
Comparable games
No Place Like Home 2022 · $2.3M 
Animal Shelter 2022 · $2.2M 
STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town 2021 · $1.6M 
Calico 2020 · $1.2M 
To The Rescue! 2021 · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | No Place Like Home | older | $19.99 | 3,784 78% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,269,265) | Chicken Launcher |
| | 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. |
| | Calico | older | $11.99 | 3,238 88% | 97k | $1.2M (exactly $1,164,709) | Peachy Keen Games |
| | To The Rescue! | older | $19.99 | 1,865 66% | 56k | $1.1M (exactly $1,118,440) | Little Rock Games, indie.io |
 | Railbound | older | $12.99 | 1,818 94% | 55k | $708k (exactly $708,475) | Afterburn |
 | Arctico | older | $9.99 | 2,207 70% | 66k | $661k (exactly $661,438) | Claudio Norori, Antonio Vargas |
 | Everdream Valley | older | $24.99 | 708 70% | 21k | $531k (exactly $530,788) | Mooneaters |
 | Everdell | older | $19.99 | 577 90% | 17k | $346k (exactly $346,027) | Dire Wolf |
 | Gourdlets | older | $4.99 | 1,954 92% | 59k | $293k (exactly $292,514) | AuntyGames |
 | Above the Snow | $24.99 | 383 75% | 11k | $287k (exactly $287,135) | Above the Desk | |
 | Gaucho and the Grassland | $19.99 | 410 96% | 12k | $246k (exactly $245,877) | Epopeia Games | |
 | Rancher: A new life | · EA | $19.99 | 265 64% | 8.0k | $159k (exactly $158,920) | Sim Farm S.A. |
 | Koira | $17.99 | 289 93% | 8.7k | $156k (exactly $155,973) | Studio Tolima | |
 | Not Monday Cafe | $8.99 | 539 94% | 16k | $145k (exactly $145,368) | Sunny Syrup Studio | |
 | 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 |
 | Bean Beasts | $13.99 | 113 89% | 3.4k | $47k (exactly $47,426) | Anxious Noob | |
 | Ice World | $9.99 | 111 57% | 3.3k | $33k (exactly $33,267) | CoolRabbit Games | |
 | Furry Company | $5.99 | 133 80% | 4.0k | $24k (exactly $23,900) | Dreamscape Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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