Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Combat game?

Combat + Cats

Of 58 developers who shipped a Cat Combat 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.. 130 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×550 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 130 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 130 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 58
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $330 → $447k → $3.9k → $2.0k → $1.7k → $2.3k → $1.6k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 58
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,731)
Top 25% $9.3k (exactly $9,291)
Top 5% $345k (exactly $345,370)
Developers, 2 yr 58
Released games 147
Announced 130
Effort 5 / 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 85% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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.

Combat
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
Combat; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 7,071 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $9.2k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 130 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2021 · $6.5M Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin 2020 · $4.5M Atomicrops 2020 · $2.3M Cat Quest III 2024 · $1.9M Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 2023 · $1.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl older $49.99 4,311 75% 129k $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) Ludosity, Fair Play Labs
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin older $29.99 5,004 92% 150k $4.5M (exactly $4,502,099) Edelweiss
Atomicrops older $14.99 5,134 93% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,308,760) Bird Bath Games
Cat Quest III older $19.99 3,108 94% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,863,868) The Gentlebros
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 older $49.99 1,013 81% 30k $1.5M (exactly $1,519,196) Fair Play Labs
OFF $14.99 3,093 95% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,390,922) Mortis Ghost, Fangamer
No More Heroes older $19.99 2,264 84% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,357,721) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
No More Heroes 3 older $39.99 835 79% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,001,750) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
Gori: Cuddly Carnage older $21.99 1,434 96% 43k $946k (exactly $946,010) Angry Demon Studio
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle older $19.99 1,130 73% 34k $678k (exactly $677,661) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
Kristala $39.99 485 71% 15k $582k (exactly $581,854) Astral Clocktower Studios
Epic Auto Towers · EA $14.99 768 70% 23k $345k (exactly $345,370) Aleksandr Golovkin
Morsels $14.99 552 75% 17k $248k (exactly $248,234) Furcula
MAHOUTEQ! $1.99 1,316 99% 39k $79k (exactly $78,565) motijan
Dungeons And Cat $9.99 193 88% 5.8k $58k (exactly $57,842) CatBellUnion
NiuMa $5.99 263 91% 7.9k $47k (exactly $47,261) Game Star
Angel Essence $4.99 177 99% 5.3k $26k (exactly $26,497) g3bsoft
Beatdown City Survivors $9.99 80 98% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,976) NuChallenger
Kitty's Last Adventure $4.99 144 97% 4.3k $22k (exactly $21,557) Woum

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