Should I ship a Cat PvP game?
PvP + Cats
Of 39 developers who shipped a Cat PvP 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.. 65 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×98 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 65 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,436) |
| Top 25% | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) |
| Top 5% | $147k (exactly $147,052) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 39 |
| Released games | 98 |
| Announced | 65 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 31%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Strategy, Co-op
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Family Friendly, Cute, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,104 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 65 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2021 · $6.5M 
Garfield Kart - Furious Racing 2019 · $4.7M 
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 2023 · $1.5M 
Everdell 2022 · $346k 
Quilts and Cats of Calico 2024 · $243k | 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 |
| | Garfield Kart - Furious Racing | older | $14.99 | 10,475 88% | 314k | $4.7M (exactly $4,710,608) | Artefacts Studio |
| | Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 | older | $49.99 | 1,013 81% | 30k | $1.5M (exactly $1,519,196) | Fair Play Labs |
| | Everdell | older | $19.99 | 577 90% | 17k | $346k (exactly $346,027) | Dire Wolf |
| | Quilts and Cats of Calico | older | $19.99 | 405 93% | 12k | $243k (exactly $242,878) | Monster Couch |
 | Exploding Kittens® 2 | older | $12.49 | 447 75% | 13k | $167k (exactly $167,491) | Marmalade Game Studio Ltd |
 | Garfield Kart 2 - All You Can Drift | $24.99 | 216 45% | 6.5k | $162k (exactly $161,935) | Eden Games | |
 | Batomon Showdown | $14.99 | 327 87% | 9.8k | $147k (exactly $147,052) | berrymint | |
 | Wand Wars | older | $11.99 | 183 96% | 5.5k | $66k (exactly $65,825) | Moonradish Inc. |
 | NiuMa | $5.99 | 263 91% | 7.9k | $47k (exactly $47,261) | Game Star | |
 | Lunars | · EA | $14.99 | 40 97% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,988) | Anubis Arts |
 | Claws & Chaos | $5.99 | 95 60% | 2.9k | $17k (exactly $17,072) | Parhelion Studio | |
 | The Isle of Cats | $14.99 | 31 83% | 930 | $14k (exactly $13,941) | Dire Wolf | |
 | King of Tokyo - Richard Garfield | $19.99 | 16 68% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) | Breakfirst | |
 | Paws Coven | $6.99 | 43 67% | 1.3k | $9.0k (exactly $9,017) | Wintercrow Games | |
 | Skollorn | $6.99 | 34 94% | 1.0k | $7.1k (exactly $7,130) | Fenris Labs | |
 | Cats go! : Tactical Defense Braw | $4.99 | 39 97% | 1.2k | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) | Minimum Studio Corp. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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