Do I ship it?

GamesCookingCooking + Choose Your Own Adventure

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Choose Your Own Adventure Cooking game?

Cooking + Choose Your Own Adventure

Of 28 developers who shipped a Choose Your Own Adventure 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.. 72 more are announced, ×5.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×8.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $630k, ×1327 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 72 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 72 announced, ×5.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Cooking + Choose Your Own Adventure
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.6k → $21k → $4.8k → $5.7k → $172k → $36k → $1.0k (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Cooking + Choose Your Own Adventure: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $4.0k (exactly $4,047)
Top 25% $54k (exactly $53,514)
Top 5% $630k (exactly $630,145)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 70
Announced 72
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $9.99

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 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Cooking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Choose Your Own Adventure
effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Cooking, Choose Your Own Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, RPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 9,533 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 $4.0k, 1 in 4 over $53k, 1 in 20 over $630k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 6 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 72 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Cooking with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorFair54 devs · median $14k · 68 announced
  2. + DogsFair12 devs · median $8.1k · 12 announced
  3. + Turn-Based CombatFair15 devs · median $6.0k · 22 announced
  4. + Point & ClickFair68 devs · median $1.8k · 79 announced
  5. + LogicFair27 devs · median $1.6k · 26 announced
  6. + Score AttackFair28 devs · median $1.4k · 30 announced
  7. + Hidden ObjectFair25 devs · median $1.0k · 20 announced
  8. + PuzzleFair77 devs · median $958 · 92 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligencePoor odds15 devs · median $73k · 10 announced
  10. + JRPGPoor odds13 devs · median $34k · 25 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds16 devs · median $30k · 32 announced
  12. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds12 devs · median $26k · 23 announced

All 95 pairs on the Cooking page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Disney Dreamlight Valley older $39.99 22,027 92% 661k $26M (exactly $26,425,792) Gameloft
Tavern Keeper 🍻 · EA $29.99 4,563 94% 137k $4.1M (exactly $4,105,331) Greenheart Games 💚
Sailwind · EA older $19.99 2,312 89% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,386,506) Raw Lion Workshop
Big Farm Story older $19.99 1,172 78% 35k $703k (exactly $702,848) Goodgame Studios
Kemono Teatime $12.99 1,617 95% 49k $630k (exactly $630,145) Studio Lalala, Kotoneiro, WHO YOU
To Pixelia $14.99 1,194 73% 36k $537k (exactly $536,942) Pixeduo Studios
Cooking Companions older $14.99 1,081 93% 32k $486k (exactly $486,126) Deer Dream Studios
Slow living with Princess older $19.99 580 87% 17k $348k (exactly $347,826) KADOKAWA, TSUKURITE.
Maid Cafe on Electric Street $18.99 595 82% 18k $339k (exactly $338,972) Adventurer's Tavern
GIRLS MADE PUDDING $9.99 866 95% 26k $260k (exactly $259,540) Kazuhide Oka
Corner Kitchen Fast Food Simulator $13.99 411 85% 12k $172k (exactly $172,497) Purple Heads Games
Bonjour, Cream Inside 💦 $14.99 119 68% 3.6k $54k (exactly $53,514) Juicy Peach Games 🍑
The Supper: New Blood $9.99 120 88% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,964) White Blanket Games
Love at The Milky Way Diner · EA $13.99 25 100% 750 $10k (exactly $10,492) Lucky Kim, Emanuelle Heikens
Kitty Burger $10.99 23 100% 690 $7.6k (exactly $7,583) Kowal Games

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