Games › Exploration › Exploration + Cats
Should I ship a Cat Exploration game?
Exploration + Cats
Of 192 developers who shipped a Cat Exploration 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.. 356 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×4.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×676 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 356 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.0k (exactly $2,035) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,086) |
| Top 5% | $321k (exactly $320,872) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 192 |
| Released games | 622 |
| Announced | 356 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $2.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Cats
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle
- Price point
- $2.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 22,098 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 174 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 356 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
Stray 2022 · $142M 
Night in the Woods 2017 · $11M 
Little Kitty, Big City 2024 · $7.8M 
Strange Horticulture 2022 · $7.1M 
In Sound Mind 2021 · $5.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stray | older | $29.99 | 157,579 97% | 4.7M | $142M (exactly $141,773,826) | BlueTwelve Studio |
| | Night in the Woods | older | $19.99 | 17,760 94% | 533k | $11M (exactly $10,650,672) | Infinite Fall |
| | Little Kitty, Big City | older | $24.99 | 10,423 96% | 313k | $7.8M (exactly $7,814,123) | Double Dagger Studio |
| | Strange Horticulture | older | $15.99 | 14,867 94% | 446k | $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) | Bad Viking |
| | In Sound Mind | older | $34.99 | 5,467 95% | 164k | $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) | We Create Stuff |
 | A Space for the Unbound | older | $19.99 | 7,161 97% | 215k | $4.3M (exactly $4,294,452) | Mojiken |
 | My Little Puppy | $24.99 | 4,435 97% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,324,920) | Dreamotion Inc. | |
 | Cat Goes Fishing | older | $6.99 | 15,431 94% | 463k | $3.2M (exactly $3,235,881) | Cat5Games |
 | Blacksad: Under the Skin | older | $19.99 | 5,356 83% | 161k | $3.2M (exactly $3,211,993) | Pendulo Studios, YS Interactive |
 | Cat Quest II | older | $14.99 | 5,850 95% | 176k | $2.6M (exactly $2,630,745) | The Gentlebros |
 | Copycat | $14.99 | 4,611 89% | 138k | $2.1M (exactly $2,073,567) | Spoonful Of Wonder | |
 | Strange Antiquities | $17.99 | 3,288 95% | 99k | $1.8M (exactly $1,774,534) | Bad Viking | |
 | OneShot: World Machine Edition | $9.99 | 5,349 98% | 160k | $1.6M (exactly $1,603,095) | Future Cat LLC | |
 | Snacko | $24.99 | 888 95% | 27k | $666k (exactly $665,734) | Bluecurse Studios | |
 | Kristala | $39.99 | 485 71% | 15k | $582k (exactly $581,854) | Astral Clocktower Studios | |
 | Bubsy 4D | $19.99 | 777 92% | 23k | $466k (exactly $465,967) | Fabraz | |
 | Schrodinger's Cat Burglar | $19.99 | 613 97% | 18k | $368k (exactly $367,616) | Abandoned Sheep | |
 | ORDER 13 | $8.99 | 1,224 87% | 37k | $330k (exactly $330,113) | Cybernetic Walrus | |
 | Fatal Claw | $24.99 | 428 89% | 13k | $321k (exactly $320,872) | NDEV GAMES |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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