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Should I ship a Choices Matter Cooking game?
Choices Matter + Cooking
Of 59 developers who shipped a Choices Matter Cooking 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.. 145 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×714 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 145 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.1k (exactly $1,139) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,726) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,418) |
| Top 5% | $339k (exactly $338,972) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 59 |
| Released games | 121 |
| Announced | 145 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Choices Matter
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Cooking
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Choices Matter, Cooking; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Multiple Endings, RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 3,724 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 6 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 145 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Choices Matter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + SportsFair
- + RhythmFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + TriviaFair
- + Board GameFair
- + RacingFair
- + ChessFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + RomePoor odds
- + World War IPoor odds
Comparable games
Stranded: Alien Dawn 2023 · $10M 
Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator 2023 · $2.0M 
Good Pizza, Great Pizza - Cooking Simulator Game 2023 · $1.9M 
One Hour One Life 2018 · $1.8M 
Echoes of the Plum Grove 2024 · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stranded: Alien Dawn | older | $34.99 | 9,715 84% | 291k | $10M (exactly $10,197,836) | Haemimont Games |
| | Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator | older | $29.99 | 2,222 83% | 67k | $2.0M (exactly $1,999,133) | Cyanide Studio |
| | Good Pizza, Great Pizza - Cooking Simulator Game | older | $9.99 | 6,261 87% | 188k | $1.9M (exactly $1,876,422) | TapBlaze |
| | One Hour One Life | older | $14.99 | 3,988 79% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,793,404) | Jason Rohrer |
| | Echoes of the Plum Grove | older | $19.99 | 2,681 87% | 80k | $1.6M (exactly $1,607,796) | Unwound Games |
 | Venba | older | $14.99 | 2,393 93% | 72k | $1.1M (exactly $1,076,132) | Visai Games |
 | Food Truck Simulator | older | $19.99 | 1,106 68% | 33k | $663k (exactly $663,268) | DRAGO entertainment |
 | Saloon Simulator | · EA | $18.99 | 860 89% | 26k | $490k (exactly $489,942) | Glivi Games S.A. |
 | TasteMaker | older | $11.99 | 1,249 83% | 37k | $449k (exactly $449,265) | Jelle Booij |
 | Sunset Motel | $18.99 | 728 77% | 22k | $415k (exactly $414,742) | Efkey Studios | |
 | Maid Cafe on Electric Street | $18.99 | 595 82% | 18k | $339k (exactly $338,972) | Adventurer's Tavern | |
 | Tostchu | $7.99 | 594 84% | 18k | $142k (exactly $142,382) | Ravenscape Collective | |
 | High Times | $19.99 | 163 90% | 4.9k | $98k (exactly $97,751) | Yangyang Mobile | |
 | Anime City | · EA | $14.99 | 201 72% | 6.0k | $90k (exactly $90,390) | Shoujo City Developer |
 | WorldNeverland - Daily Life in the Elnea Kingdom - Another Life Adventure | $29.99 | 92 78% | 2.8k | $83k (exactly $82,772) | althi Inc. | |
 | Taste of the Wind | $10.99 | 168 83% | 5.0k | $55k (exactly $55,390) | 一留留 | |
 | Bonjour, Cream Inside 💦 | $14.99 | 119 68% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $53,514) | Juicy Peach Games 🍑 | |
 | BM Love Cafe | $7.99 | 204 77% | 6.1k | $49k (exactly $48,899) | zzzgame |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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