Do I ship it?

Games › Crafting › Crafting + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Crafting game?

Crafting + Cats

Of 40 developers who shipped a Cat Crafting 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.8k, ×7.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $660k, ×1060 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 56 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.4k → $14k → $31k → $2.9k → $2.1k → $4.5k → $17k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $807 (exactly $807)
Median $4.8k (exactly $4,798)
Top 25% $41k (exactly $41,006)
Top 5% $666k (exactly $665,734)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 89
Announced 56
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 up 350% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Crafting
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
Crafting; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Sandbox
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.77 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 $17.77 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 9,245 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $810, median $4.8k, 1 in 4 over $41k, 1 in 20 over $660k.

3 in 10 developers made under $810. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin 2020 · $4.5M Cat Mail Co. 2026 · $2.8M Snacko 2025 · $666k Everdream Valley 2023 · $531k MewnBase 2023 · $399k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin older $29.99 5,004 92% 150k $4.5M (exactly $4,502,099) Edelweiss
Cat Mail Co. $14.99 6,289 92% 189k $2.8M (exactly $2,828,163) Maracas Studio
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
MewnBase older $9.99 1,331 92% 40k $399k (exactly $398,901) Cairn4
Everdell older $19.99 577 90% 17k $346k (exactly $346,027) Dire Wolf
CraftCraft: Fantasy Merchant Simulator $15.99 531 81% 16k $255k (exactly $254,721) Placeholder Gameworks, Pineapple Works
Mineko's Night Market older $19.99 313 76% 9.4k $188k (exactly $187,706) Meowza Games
Learning Factory $14.99 390 84% 12k $175k (exactly $175,383) Luden.io
Garden Simulator older $14.99 358 82% 11k $161k (exactly $160,993) PRODUKTIVKELLER Studios
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
Abra-Cooking-Dabra $12.99 250 75% 7.5k $97k (exactly $97,425) Door 407
Everdream Village · EA $19.99 107 69% 3.2k $64k (exactly $64,168) Mooneaters
Pawsome Resort · EA $11.99 147 83% 4.4k $53k (exactly $52,876) Pixel Puffs
MilkTea Time $11.99 114 82% 3.4k $41k (exactly $41,006) 星九猫游戏-StarNineCat Games

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