Games › Simulation › Simulation + Cats
Should I ship a Cat Simulation game?
Simulation + Cats
Of 225 developers who shipped a Cat Simulation 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.. 289 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×500 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 289 games are announced against 151 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,256) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $11,089) |
| Top 5% | $314k (exactly $313,786) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 225 |
| Released games | 481 |
| Announced | 289 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 45% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Cats
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Life Sim, Management
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, 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 83% positive over 50,777 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 98 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 289 games are announced against 151 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
inZOI 2025 · EA · $36M 
Little Kitty, Big City 2024 · $7.8M 
A Little to the Left 2022 · $7.6M 
Strange Horticulture 2022 · $7.1M 
TRIANGLE STRATEGY 2022 · $5.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | inZOI | · EA | $39.99 | 30,020 77% | 901k | $36M (exactly $36,014,994) | inZOI Studio |
| | Little Kitty, Big City | older | $24.99 | 10,423 96% | 313k | $7.8M (exactly $7,814,123) | Double Dagger Studio |
| | A Little to the Left | older | $14.99 | 16,885 91% | 507k | $7.6M (exactly $7,593,184) | Max Inferno |
| | Strange Horticulture | older | $15.99 | 14,867 94% | 446k | $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) | Bad Viking |
| | TRIANGLE STRATEGY | older | $59.99 | 3,239 78% | 97k | $5.8M (exactly $5,829,228) | Square Enix, ARTDINK |
 | Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin | older | $29.99 | 5,004 92% | 150k | $4.5M (exactly $4,502,099) | Edelweiss |
 | Cat Goes Fishing | older | $6.99 | 15,431 94% | 463k | $3.2M (exactly $3,235,881) | Cat5Games |
 | while True: learn() | older | $12.99 | 7,350 91% | 221k | $2.9M (exactly $2,864,295) | Luden.io |
 | Cat Mail Co. | $14.99 | 6,289 92% | 189k | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,163) | Maracas Studio | |
 | Atomicrops | older | $14.99 | 5,134 93% | 154k | $2.3M (exactly $2,308,760) | Bird Bath Games |
 | Strange Antiquities | $17.99 | 3,288 95% | 99k | $1.8M (exactly $1,774,534) | Bad Viking | |
 | Animal Shelter 2 | $24.99 | 1,204 79% | 36k | $903k (exactly $902,639) | Games Incubator | |
 | Bookshop Simulator | $15.99 | 1,496 92% | 45k | $718k (exactly $717,631) | Blep Games | |
 | Snacko | $24.99 | 888 95% | 27k | $666k (exactly $665,734) | Bluecurse Studios | |
 | Kemono Teatime | $12.99 | 1,617 95% | 49k | $630k (exactly $630,145) | Studio Lalala, Kotoneiro, WHO YOU | |
 | Maltese's Fluffy Onsen | $5.99 | 2,727 94% | 82k | $490k (exactly $490,042) | Sinkhole Studio, Moonlab Studio | |
 | Organized Inside | $7.99 | 2,024 94% | 61k | $485k (exactly $485,153) | Meox Studio | |
 | ORDER 13 | $8.99 | 1,224 87% | 37k | $330k (exactly $330,113) | Cybernetic Walrus |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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