Games › Crafting › Crafting + Cooking
Should I ship a Crafting Cooking game?
Crafting + Cooking
Of 216 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 460 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.0k, ×9.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.4M, ×2322 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 460 games are announced against 140 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.0k (exactly $5,994) |
| Top 25% | $52k (exactly $51,536) |
| Top 5% | $1.5M (exactly $1,458,377) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 216 |
| Released games | 443 |
| Announced | 460 |
| 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 20% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Crafting, Cooking; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 81,864 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 7 in 10 of the 91 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 460 games are announced against 140 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
Disney Dreamlight Valley 2023 · $26M 
Black Desert 2017 · $19M 
Sun Haven 2023 · $17M 
Fields of Mistria 2026 · $13M 
Hello Kitty Island Adventure 2025 · $12M | 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 |
| | Black Desert | older | $9.99 | 63,052 75% | 1.9M | $19M (exactly $18,896,684) | Pearl Abyss |
| | Sun Haven | older | $24.99 | 22,069 79% | 662k | $17M (exactly $16,545,129) | Pixel Sprout Studios |
| | Fields of Mistria | $13.99 | 31,918 96% | 958k | $13M (exactly $13,395,985) | NPC Studio | |
| | Hello Kitty Island Adventure | $39.99 | 9,637 93% | 289k | $12M (exactly $11,561,509) | Sunblink | |
 | Cooking Simulator | older | $19.99 | 17,837 84% | 535k | $11M (exactly $10,696,849) | Big Cheese Studio |
 | Stranded: Alien Dawn | older | $34.99 | 9,715 84% | 291k | $10M (exactly $10,197,836) | Haemimont Games |
 | Starsand Island | $39.99 | 5,898 76% | 177k | $7.1M (exactly $7,075,831) | Seed Sparkle Lab | |
 | STORY OF SEASONS: Grand Bazaar | $49.99 | 3,140 93% | 94k | $4.7M (exactly $4,709,058) | Marvelous Inc. | |
 | Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator | $17.99 | 7,019 83% | 211k | $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) | Biotech Gameworks | |
 | The Quinfall | $9.99 | 12,073 50% | 362k | $3.6M (exactly $3,618,278) | Vawraek Technology Inc. | |
 | Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of The Rings™ Game | $34.99 | 3,237 81% | 97k | $3.4M (exactly $3,397,879) | Wētā Workshop | |
 | Wanderstop | $24.99 | 2,938 92% | 88k | $2.2M (exactly $2,202,619) | Ivy Road | |
 | Doloc Town | $19.99 | 3,166 94% | 95k | $1.9M (exactly $1,898,650) | RedSaw Games Studio | |
 | Winter Burrow | $19.99 | 2,838 89% | 85k | $1.7M (exactly $1,701,949) | Pine Creek Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.