Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Cooking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Cooking game?

Combat + Cooking

Of 30 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 81 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×680 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 81 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 81 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Cooking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $6.4k → $3.8k → $1.1k (still earning) → $7.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Cooking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $1.1k (exactly $1,139)
Median $2.0k (exactly $1,978)
Top 25% $6.7k (exactly $6,736)
Top 5% $427k (exactly $426,765)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 62
Announced 81
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 35% on the market, supply 230% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Cooking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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
Combat, Cooking; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Crafting, Exploration
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Stylized
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 4,913 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sun Haven 2023 · $17M Stranded: Alien Dawn 2023 · $10M Doloc Town 2026 · $1.9M Chef RPG 2024 · EA · $1.6M Kitaria Fables 2021 · $751k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sun Haven older $24.99 22,069 79% 662k $17M (exactly $16,545,129) Pixel Sprout Studios
Stranded: Alien Dawn older $34.99 9,715 84% 291k $10M (exactly $10,197,836) Haemimont Games
Doloc Town $19.99 3,166 94% 95k $1.9M (exactly $1,898,650) RedSaw Games Studio
Chef RPG · EA older $19.99 2,593 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,555,022) World 2 Studio
Kitaria Fables older $19.99 1,253 73% 38k $751k (exactly $751,424) Twin Hearts, Secret Level Studios
Godlike Burger older $19.99 796 75% 24k $477k (exactly $477,361) Liquid Pug
OxyRail · EA $14.99 949 80% 28k $427k (exactly $426,765) OxygenTech Limited
Hold Your Own · EA older $14.99 532 65% 16k $239k (exactly $239,240) DistrictWare inc.
SEDAP! A Culinary Adventure $14.99 517 70% 16k $232k (exactly $232,495) kopiforge
Thirsty Suitors older $29.99 233 96% 7.0k $210k (exactly $209,630) Outerloop Games
Space Chef $14.99 105 73% 3.2k $47k (exactly $47,218) Blue Goo Games
Food Wagon · EA $12.99 31 77% 930 $12k (exactly $12,081) Luminous Tales
Doomsday Diner $9.99 26 88% 780 $7.8k (exactly $7,792) Space Rock Games
Lorne · EA $14.99 17 88% 510 $7.6k (exactly $7,645) Lorne Studios
Kitchen Wars $4.99 45 80% 1.4k $6.7k (exactly $6,736) Silent Owl
Vinebound: Tangled Together $4.99 43 95% 1.3k $6.4k (exactly $6,437) Riftpoint Entertainment
Surviving Skeleton Island $9.99 14 64% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Bert Games

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