Games › City Builder › City Builder + Cooking
Should I ship a Cooking City Builder?
City Builder + Cooking
Of 25 developers who shipped a Cooking City Builder 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.. 42 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×243 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 42 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,704) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $26,978) |
| Top 5% | $153k (exactly $152,513) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 49 |
| Announced | 42 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 40% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- City Builder
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Cooking
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- City Builder, Cooking; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Building
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Cute, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 2,060 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
City Builder with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + RacingLong shot
- + RomePoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + HorrorPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition 2019 · $1.6M 
Critter Cove 2024 · EA · $1.3M 
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 2022 · $1.2M 
Slow living with Princess 2023 · $348k 
Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story 2024 · $281k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,579 55% | 107k | $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) | Klabater |
| | Critter Cove | · EA older | $24.99 | 1,735 94% | 52k | $1.3M (exactly $1,300,730) | Gentleman Rat Studios |
| | Sword and Fairy Inn 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,013 49% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,207,196) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT |
| | Slow living with Princess | older | $19.99 | 580 87% | 17k | $348k (exactly $347,826) | KADOKAWA, TSUKURITE. |
| | Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story | $19.99 | 468 98% | 14k | $281k (exactly $280,660) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd | |
 | Love Tavern | older | $11.99 | 778 73% | 23k | $280k (exactly $279,847) | Secret Labo |
 | Korea Dynasty (조선메타실록) | · EA older | $23.99 | 267 72% | 8.0k | $192k (exactly $192,160) | Happy Daram Inc. |
 | Creator Chronicles | $11.99 | 424 64% | 13k | $153k (exactly $152,513) | Origin Studio | |
 | Cafe Master Story | older | $12.99 | 378 96% | 11k | $147k (exactly $147,307) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
 | Midori no Kaori | $9.99 | 464 94% | 14k | $139k (exactly $139,061) | TheLaba | |
 | Feastopia | $13.99 | 211 77% | 6.3k | $89k (exactly $88,557) | White Star Studio | |
 | BM Love Cafe | $7.99 | 204 77% | 6.1k | $49k (exactly $48,899) | zzzgame | |
 | Service Please | · EA | $11.99 | 94 78% | 2.8k | $34k (exactly $33,812) | Dynamic Dice |
 | Node Farm | $11.99 | 75 81% | 2.3k | $27k (exactly $26,978) | ByerN | |
 | The Road To Harvest: Food From Across The Ocean | $5.99 | 75 76% | 2.3k | $13k (exactly $13,478) | MuccyGames | |
 | The Diner at the End of the Galaxy | · EA | $9.99 | 32 59% | 960 | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) | General Interactive Co. |
 | Proto Garden | $14.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | arreyne |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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