Games › Economy › Economy + Cooking
Should I ship a Cooking Economy game?
Economy + Cooking
Of 116 developers who shipped a Cooking Economy 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.. 202 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $12k, ×19 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×696 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 202 games are announced against 76 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) |
|---|---|
| Median | $12k (exactly $11,988) |
| Top 25% | $71k (exactly $70,510) |
| Top 5% | $437k (exactly $437,210) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 116 |
| Released games | 219 |
| Announced | 202 |
| 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 down 25% on the market, supply 80% 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.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy, Cooking; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Life Sim
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Relaxing, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 19,812 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.1k. 6 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 202 games are announced against 76 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Cooking Simulator 2019 · $11M 
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya 2021 · $5.3M 
Tavern Keeper 🍻 2025 · EA · $4.1M 
Ale & Tale Tavern 2024 · $3.9M 
Farm Together 2 2025 · $3.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cooking Simulator | older | $19.99 | 17,837 84% | 535k | $11M (exactly $10,696,849) | Big Cheese Studio |
| | Touhou Mystia's Izakaya | older | $5.99 | 29,517 98% | 886k | $5.3M (exactly $5,304,205) | 二色幽紫蝶, Re零同人社 |
| | Tavern Keeper 🍻 | · EA | $29.99 | 4,563 94% | 137k | $4.1M (exactly $4,105,331) | Greenheart Games 💚 |
| | Ale & Tale Tavern | older | $14.99 | 8,692 88% | 261k | $3.9M (exactly $3,908,792) | Scienart Games |
| | Farm Together 2 | $25.99 | 4,456 93% | 134k | $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) | Milkstone Studios | |
 | Immortal Life | older | $16.99 | 3,853 79% | 116k | $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) | YiFang Studio |
 | Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 | older | $14.99 | 4,018 91% | 121k | $1.8M (exactly $1,806,895) | One More Time |
 | Saleblazers | · EA older | $29.99 | 1,974 78% | 59k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) | AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE |
 | Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,579 55% | 107k | $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) | Klabater |
 | Ravenous Devils | older | $4.99 | 9,477 92% | 284k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,707) | Bad Vices Games |
 | Wrap House Simulator🌯 | $14.99 | 2,951 87% | 89k | $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065) | Broken Lyre Entertainment, Wendigo Games | |
 | Scale the Depths | $9.99 | 1,881 88% | 56k | $564k (exactly $563,736) | Glass Gecko Games | |
 | Saloon Simulator | · EA | $18.99 | 860 89% | 26k | $490k (exactly $489,942) | Glivi Games S.A. |
 | Chef Knight | $5.99 | 2,433 94% | 73k | $437k (exactly $437,210) | Clover Bite | |
 | Vacation Cafe Simulator | $19.99 | 700 88% | 21k | $420k (exactly $419,790) | Alice Games | |
 | 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 | |
 | Farm to Table | · EA | $14.99 | 645 91% | 19k | $290k (exactly $290,056) | indieGiant |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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