Do I ship it?

GamesCookingCooking + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Cooking game?

Cooking + Horror

Of 46 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 98 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×301 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 98 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 98 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Cooking + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $3.6k → $15k → $7.1k → $6.6k → $5.1k (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Cooking + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $1.4k (exactly $1,435)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,090)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,418)
Top 5% $143k (exactly $142,957)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 74
Announced 98
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 45% on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Cooking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Horror
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Cooking; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 14,099 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 98 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Cooking with a different setting or mood, 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
Creature Kitchen $7.99 9,046 99% 271k $2.2M (exactly $2,168,326) The Rat Zone
Arctic Eggs older $9.99 5,343 95% 160k $1.6M (exactly $1,601,297) The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie,… (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex)
Ravenous Devils older $4.99 9,477 92% 284k $1.4M (exactly $1,418,707) Bad Vices Games
UNDYING - "KINGDOM" older $19.99 1,688 78% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,012,294) Vanimals
Cooking Companions older $14.99 1,081 93% 32k $486k (exactly $486,126) Deer Dream Studios
Kiosk $3.99 2,547 88% 76k $305k (exactly $304,876) Vivi
Happy's Humble Burger Cult $9.99 477 86% 14k $143k (exactly $142,957) Scythe Dev Team
Project: Mist · EA $17.99 257 72% 7.7k $139k (exactly $138,703) Chicken Launcher
Wasteland Bites $9.99 440 93% 13k $132k (exactly $131,868) CosmicDev
[Bober Bros] The Hole $2.99 779 85% 23k $70k (exactly $69,876) BOBER BROS
Don't Let It Starve $7.99 189 95% 5.7k $45k (exactly $45,303) Eduardo Scarpato
The Supper: New Blood $9.99 120 88% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,964) White Blanket Games
True Nightmare - Roadside Сafe $7.99 135 80% 4.1k $32k (exactly $32,360) Frost Fox Studios
Burger Bots Inc. $7.99 109 91% 3.3k $26k (exactly $26,127) Normogames

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