Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Cats
Should I ship a Cat Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Cats
Only 12 developers shipped a Cat Metroidvania in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Fatal Claw, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 45 more are announced, ×6.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $11k, ×23 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×676 the market median. Revenue is up 655% on the market; 45 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.0k (exactly $2,035) |
|---|---|
| Median | $11k (exactly $11,089) |
| Top 25% | $58k (exactly $57,842) |
| Top 5% | $321k (exactly $320,872) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 38 |
| Announced | 45 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 655% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- 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
- Metroidvania
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 1,434 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.1k. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Nine Sols 2024 · $36M 
Crypt Custodian 2024 · $1.8M 
Gato Roboto 2019 · $1.0M 
Gori: Cuddly Carnage 2024 · $946k 
A Castle Full of Cats 2022 · $488k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Nine Sols | older | $29.99 | 40,138 94% | 1.2M | $36M (exactly $36,112,159) | RedCandleGames |
| | Crypt Custodian | older | $19.99 | 2,927 96% | 88k | $1.8M (exactly $1,755,322) | Kyle Thompson |
| | Gato Roboto | older | $7.99 | 4,363 94% | 131k | $1.0M (exactly $1,045,811) | doinksoft |
| | Gori: Cuddly Carnage | older | $21.99 | 1,434 96% | 43k | $946k (exactly $946,010) | Angry Demon Studio |
| | A Castle Full of Cats | older | $3.99 | 4,073 99% | 122k | $488k (exactly $487,538) | Devcats |
 | Nyaruru Fishy Fight | older | $7.99 | 1,702 89% | 51k | $408k (exactly $407,969) | 赤瞳大白猫, 猫尾巴制作组 |
 | Fatal Claw | $24.99 | 428 89% | 13k | $321k (exactly $320,872) | NDEV GAMES | |
 | A Planet Full of Cats | $7.99 | 581 89% | 17k | $139k (exactly $139,266) | Devcats | |
 | Umbraclaw | older | $24.99 | 131 86% | 3.9k | $98k (exactly $98,211) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. |
 | KinnikuNeko: SUPER MUSCLE CAT | older | $17.99 | 145 95% | 4.4k | $78k (exactly $78,256) | Kamotachi |
 | Dungeons And Cat | $9.99 | 193 88% | 5.8k | $58k (exactly $57,842) | CatBellUnion | |
 | Gastova: The Witches of Arkana | $14.99 | 59 71% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $26,532) | MechWolf Productions | |
 | Sunfluffs | · EA | $11.99 | 56 100% | 1.7k | $20k (exactly $20,143) | Nuclear Strawberry |
 | Fire Hero - Pixel Rescue | $9.99 | 37 97% | 1.1k | $11k (exactly $11,089) | Ravenlore Studio | |
 | SwooshCat | $4.99 | 46 86% | 1.4k | $6.9k (exactly $6,886) | PixelForestStudio | |
 | Yarn Guardians | $14.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $6.3k (exactly $6,296) | pentapaw studios | |
 | Hirai Nya | $3.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $2.0k (exactly $2,035) | FirePillar2 | |
 | Meowtabolism - Examining Feline Behavior within Unicellular Algae | · EA | $10.24 | 3 66% | 90 | $922 (exactly $922) | Kasia and Associates |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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