Do I ship it?

Games › RPG › RPG + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat RPG?

RPG + Cats

Of 106 developers who shipped a Cat RPG 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.. 167 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×571 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 167 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 167 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
RPG + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 106
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $16k → $8.4k → $15k → $2.9k → $1.0k → $2.2k → $1.1k (still earning) → $7.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for RPG + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 106
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,349)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $14,086)
Top 5% $359k (exactly $358,621)
Developers, 2 yr 106
Released games 259
Announced 167
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 170% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
RPG; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 59,516 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $350k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 167 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds169 devs · median $54k · 144 announced
  2. + IdlerFair357 devs · median $2.2k · 471 announced
  3. + Boss RushFair20 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  4. + SportsFair113 devs · median $1.5k · 124 announced
  5. + Combat RacingFair22 devs · median $629 · 28 announced
  6. + Split ScreenFair28 devs · median $450 · 31 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerFair41 devs · median $449 · 43 announced
  8. + SamuraiPoor odds14 devs · median $261k · 14 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds76 devs · median $96k · 165 announced
  10. + 4XPoor odds26 devs · median $54k · 56 announced
  11. + MinigamesPoor odds19 devs · median $40k · 34 announced
  12. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds15 devs · median $28k · 19 announced

All 262 pairs on the RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Mewgenics 2026 · $45M TRIANGLE STRATEGY 2022 · $5.8M Epic Battle Fantasy 5 2018 · $4.2M Cat Quest 2017 · $3.3M The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales 2026 · $3.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mewgenics $29.99 49,996 89% 1.5M $45M (exactly $44,981,401) Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel
TRIANGLE STRATEGY older $59.99 3,239 78% 97k $5.8M (exactly $5,829,228) Square Enix, ARTDINK
Epic Battle Fantasy 5 older $24.99 5,647 98% 169k $4.2M (exactly $4,233,556) Matt Roszak
Cat Quest older $12.99 8,371 94% 251k $3.3M (exactly $3,262,179) The Gentlebros
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales $59.99 1,687 78% 51k $3.0M (exactly $3,036,094) Square Enix, Claytechworks
Cat Quest II older $14.99 5,850 95% 176k $2.6M (exactly $2,630,745) The Gentlebros
Crypt Custodian older $19.99 2,927 96% 88k $1.8M (exactly $1,755,322) Kyle Thompson
STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town older $39.99 1,357 82% 41k $1.6M (exactly $1,627,993) Marvelous Inc.
STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life older $39.99 1,199 78% 36k $1.4M (exactly $1,438,440) Marvelous Inc.
OFF $14.99 3,093 95% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,390,922) Mortis Ghost, Fangamer
Garden of Witches $18.99 1,978 92% 59k $1.1M (exactly $1,126,867) Team Tapas
Kristala $39.99 485 71% 15k $582k (exactly $581,854) Astral Clocktower Studios
Beastro $19.99 598 92% 18k $359k (exactly $358,621) Timberline Studio
CraftCraft: Fantasy Merchant Simulator $15.99 531 81% 16k $255k (exactly $254,721) Placeholder Gameworks, Pineapple Works
Tap Tap Loot $6.99 815 76% 24k $171k (exactly $170,906) Turtle Knight Games
Cladun X3 $39.99 83 90% 2.5k $100k (exactly $99,575) Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
Abra-Cooking-Dabra $12.99 250 75% 7.5k $97k (exactly $97,425) Door 407

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