Do I ship it?

GamesCharacter CustomizationCharacter Customization + Dogs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dog Character Customization game?

Character Customization + Dogs

Of 33 developers who shipped a Dog Character Customization 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.. 58 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×5.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $670k, ×1068 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 58 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 58 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Customization + Dogs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $169k → $896 → $5.4k → $6.0k → $4.9k → $20k → $299 (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Customization + Dogs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,148)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,772)
Top 5% $670k (exactly $670,441)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 89
Announced 58
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 70% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Character Customization
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Dogs
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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
Character Customization; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 9,872 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $670k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds14 devs · median $3.6k · 12 announced
  2. + Real-TimeStrong odds7 devs · median $2.0k · 6 announced
  3. + Music-Based Procedural GenerationFair10 devs · median $18k · 8 announced
  4. + TransportationFair19 devs · median $7.2k · 24 announced
  5. + MinigamesFair27 devs · median $5.7k · 34 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.2k · 13 announced
  7. + BikesFair11 devs · median $1.5k · 10 announced
  8. + IdlerFair210 devs · median $1.2k · 286 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair146 devs · median $1.2k · 190 announced
  10. + GamblingFair30 devs · median $836 · 32 announced
  11. + Precision PlatformerFair103 devs · median $748 · 116 announced
  12. + TypingFair27 devs · median $539 · 38 announced

All 250 pairs on the Character Customization page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Necromunda: Hired Gun older $39.99 5,892 68% 177k $7.1M (exactly $7,068,632) Streum On Studio
Carnal Instinct · EA older $29.99 5,407 82% 162k $4.9M (exactly $4,864,678) Team Carnal Instinct
Cat Quest II older $14.99 5,850 95% 176k $2.6M (exactly $2,630,745) The Gentlebros
Copycat $14.99 4,611 89% 138k $2.1M (exactly $2,073,567) Spoonful Of Wonder
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.
Calico older $11.99 3,238 88% 97k $1.2M (exactly $1,164,709) Peachy Keen Games
Hunting Simulator 2 older $39.99 904 70% 27k $1.1M (exactly $1,084,529) Nacon Studio Ghent
Beat Banger · EA older $9.99 3,311 93% 99k $992k (exactly $992,307) BunFan Games LLC
FATE older $7.99 4,092 95% 123k $981k (exactly $980,852) WildTangent
Pratfall $7.99 2,797 90% 84k $670k (exactly $670,441) Quad Head
Anthro Heat $29.99 629 92% 19k $566k (exactly $565,911) Blue Lizard Studios
Gaucho and the Grassland $19.99 410 96% 12k $246k (exactly $245,877) Epopeia Games
Not Monday Cafe $8.99 539 94% 16k $145k (exactly $145,368) Sunny Syrup Studio
Sheepherds! $14.99 307 98% 9.2k $138k (exactly $138,058) Ultimo Disco
DOG WITCH $9.99 323 89% 9.7k $97k (exactly $96,803) Heckmouse
Fright Train $15.99 139 89% 4.2k $67k (exactly $66,678) WildArts Games
Stay: Your Forever Pet! · EA $12.99 61 96% 1.8k $24k (exactly $23,772) Windup Minds
Sunfluffs · EA $11.99 56 100% 1.7k $20k (exactly $20,143) Nuclear Strawberry

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