Do I ship it?

GamesStrategyStrategy + Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat Strategy game?

Strategy + Cats

Of 137 developers who shipped a Cat Strategy 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.. 181 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×182 the market median. Revenue is up 135% on the market; 181 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 135% on the market, 181 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 137
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $807 → $1.3k → $1.1k → $2.1k → $629 → $921 → $1.1k (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 137
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $8.1k (exactly $8,092)
Top 5% $114k (exactly $114,083)
Developers, 2 yr 137
Released games 333
Announced 181
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 135% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Incremental
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 5,192 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $900, 1 in 4 over $8.0k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 70 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 181 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds50 devs · median $65k · 27 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair62 devs · median $16k · 74 announced
  3. + BaseballFair14 devs · median $7.5k · 7 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Fair89 devs · median $6.7k · 91 announced
  5. + WuxiaFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 41 announced
  6. + FarmingFair44 devs · median $4.3k · 42 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 94 announced
  8. + SubmarineFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  9. + NavalFair66 devs · median $2.2k · 88 announced
  10. + IdlerFair696 devs · median $1.9k · 988 announced
  11. + Shop KeeperFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  12. + HackingFair96 devs · median $1.2k · 132 announced

All 275 pairs on the Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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 Cafe Manager older $19.99 2,174 87% 65k $1.3M (exactly $1,303,748) Roost Games
Epic Battle Fantasy 4 older $14.99 2,802 98% 84k $1.3M (exactly $1,260,059) Matt Roszak
Minami Lane older $4.99 6,089 97% 183k $912k (exactly $911,523) Blibloop, Doot
Cat God Ranch older $9.99 1,831 92% 55k $549k (exactly $548,751) CrazyPotato Studio
SaGa Emerald Beyond older $49.99 308 72% 9.2k $462k (exactly $461,908) Square Enix
Everdell older $19.99 577 90% 17k $346k (exactly $346,027) Dire Wolf
Epic Auto Towers · EA $14.99 768 70% 23k $345k (exactly $345,370) Aleksandr Golovkin
Cats & Cups $9.99 1,047 89% 31k $314k (exactly $313,786) Rogue Duck Interactive
Dungeon Inn · EA $12.99 594 92% 18k $231k (exactly $231,482) Cat Society
Learning Factory $14.99 390 84% 12k $175k (exactly $175,383) Luden.io
Captain Whiskers: Incremental Seas $5.99 886 85% 27k $159k (exactly $159,214) Happy Universe Studios
Batomon Showdown $14.99 327 87% 9.8k $147k (exactly $147,052) berrymint
Catizens $17.77 214 81% 6.4k $114k (exactly $114,083) badopticsgames
Abra-Cooking-Dabra $12.99 250 75% 7.5k $97k (exactly $97,425) Door 407
Cat Chess $6.99 456 87% 14k $96k (exactly $95,623) Capricia Labs
Roulette Hero $9.99 260 92% 7.8k $78k (exactly $77,922) CLLC Studio

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