Do I ship it?

GamesCookingCooking + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Cooking game?

Cooking + Idler

Of 44 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 76 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×920 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 76 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 76 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Cooking + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 44
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $1.1k → $145k → $9.7k → $958 (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Cooking + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 44
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,441)
Top 5% $437k (exactly $437,210)
Developers, 2 yr 44
Released games 77
Announced 76
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 25% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Cooking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Cooking, Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 12,855 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $430k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 6 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Cooking with a different second tag, 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
Farm Together 2 $25.99 4,456 93% 134k $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) Milkstone Studios
Fish to Dish: Idle Sushi $5.99 2,525 96% 76k $454k (exactly $453,742) Kygua Tech
Chef Knight $5.99 2,433 94% 73k $437k (exactly $437,210) Clover Bite
Burgie's Cozy Kitchen · EA $6.99 1,470 96% 44k $308k (exactly $308,259) HeyNau
Inn Tycoon $11.99 727 76% 22k $262k (exactly $261,502) Evil Goose Games
Not Monday Cafe $8.99 539 94% 16k $145k (exactly $145,368) Sunny Syrup Studio
I got a millenary cat older $6.99 685 85% 21k $144k (exactly $143,644) CatBellUnion
Box Bakery $12.99 321 86% 9.6k $125k (exactly $125,094) mangobox games
Fast Food Manager older $14.99 238 69% 7.1k $107k (exactly $107,029) Cyber Eye
Cafe Maid - Hentai Edition older $19.99 100 71% 3.0k $60k (exactly $59,970) Sexy Hentai Games Factory
Bonjour, Cream Inside 💦 $14.99 119 68% 3.6k $54k (exactly $53,514) Juicy Peach Games 🍑
More Sushi! $2.99 186 87% 5.6k $17k (exactly $16,684) pixelqube
Human Fast Food $6.99 79 89% 2.4k $17k (exactly $16,566) Bricchi Games

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