Do I ship it?

Games › Cooking › Cooking + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Cooking game?

Cooking + Inventory Management

Of 62 developers who shipped an Inventory Management 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.. 115 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $8.4k, ×18 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×528 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 115 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 17.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 115 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Cooking + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $30k → $13k → $7.6k → $6.7k → $162k → $12k → $7.4k (still earning) → $5.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Cooking + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Median $8.4k (exactly $8,388)
Top 25% $49k (exactly $49,085)
Top 5% $251k (exactly $250,960)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 109
Announced 115
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 30% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Cooking, Inventory Management; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Life Sim
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Relaxing, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 8,387 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 $8.4k, 1 in 4 over $49k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 6 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 115 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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

Stranded: Alien Dawn 2023 · $10M Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator 2023 · $2.0M Saleblazers 2023 · EA · $1.8M Wrap House Simulator🌯 2025 · $1.3M Fish to Dish: Idle Sushi 2025 · $454k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stranded: Alien Dawn older $34.99 9,715 84% 291k $10M (exactly $10,197,836) Haemimont Games
Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator older $29.99 2,222 83% 67k $2.0M (exactly $1,999,133) Cyanide Studio
Saleblazers · EA older $29.99 1,974 78% 59k $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE
Wrap House Simulator🌯 $14.99 2,951 87% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065) Broken Lyre Entertainment, Wendigo Games
Fish to Dish: Idle Sushi $5.99 2,525 96% 76k $454k (exactly $453,742) Kygua Tech
Parisian Bistro Simulator · EA $19.99 429 93% 13k $257k (exactly $257,271) Quark Studios
Arctic Motel Simulator $17.99 465 88% 14k $251k (exactly $250,960) One Slice of Pizza Games
World End Diner $16.99 415 93% 12k $212k (exactly $211,525) Andymente
Corner Kitchen Fast Food Simulator $13.99 411 85% 12k $172k (exactly $172,497) Purple Heads Games
Gaming Cafe Simulator $13.99 385 83% 12k $162k (exactly $161,584) Prapancha Studios
Cafe Business Manager · EA $14.99 330 86% 9.9k $148k (exactly $148,401) Caos Interactive
Ugoku Sushi Bar $12.99 316 88% 9.5k $123k (exactly $123,145) Rogue Duck Interactive
Tavern Legends $24.99 160 91% 4.8k $120k (exactly $119,952) CROWFORGE Games

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