Do I ship it?

Games › Management › Management + Cooking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cooking Management game?

Management + Cooking

Of 252 developers who shipped a Cooking Management 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.. 510 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $8.1k, ×13 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $610k, ×987 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 510 games are announced against 162 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 510 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Cooking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 252
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $42k → $21k → $7.6k → $14k → $11k → $10k → $4.3k (still earning) → $6.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Cooking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 252
Bottom 30% $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Median $8.1k (exactly $8,091)
Top 25% $57k (exactly $56,637)
Top 5% $620k (exactly $619,965)
Developers, 2 yr 252
Released games 475
Announced 510
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 15% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Cooking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management, Cooking; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Economy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 40,143 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.7k, median $8.1k, 1 in 4 over $56k, 1 in 20 over $610k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 6 in 10 of the 115 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 510 games are announced against 162 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

PlateUp! 2022 · $11M Cooking Simulator 2019 · $11M Stranded: Alien Dawn 2023 · $10M Tavern Keeper 🍻 2025 · EA · $4.1M Ale & Tale Tavern 2024 · $3.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PlateUp! older $19.99 18,500 94% 555k $11M (exactly $11,094,450) It's happening
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
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
Fast Food Simulator · EA $14.99 8,653 86% 260k $3.9M (exactly $3,891,254) No Ceiling Games
Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator $17.99 7,019 83% 211k $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) Biotech Gameworks
Farm Together 2 $25.99 4,456 93% 134k $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) Milkstone Studios
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
Feed the Cups · EA older $15.99 4,708 72% 141k $2.3M (exactly $2,258,428) Vambear Games
Wanderstop $24.99 2,938 92% 88k $2.2M (exactly $2,202,619) Ivy Road
Aeruta $19.99 2,391 94% 72k $1.4M (exactly $1,433,883) FromDawn Games
Wrap House Simulator🌯 $14.99 2,951 87% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,327,065) Broken Lyre Entertainment, Wendigo Games
Restaurats $19.90 1,640 89% 49k $979k (exactly $979,080) toR Studio
KuloNiku: Bowl Up! $11.99 2,295 96% 69k $826k (exactly $825,512) Gambir Studio

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