Games › Cooking › Cooking + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Cooking game?
Cooking + Modern
Of 23 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 34 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×6.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×335 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 34 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.0k (exactly $2,985) |
| Top 25% | $54k (exactly $53,514) |
| Top 5% | $159k (exactly $158,920) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 49 |
| Announced | 34 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 2%, 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
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Cooking; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Immersive Sim, Life Sim, Simulation
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 2,896 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Cooking with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + DogsFair
- + Turn-Based CombatFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + Artificial IntelligencePoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
Comparable games
Brewpub Simulator 2023 · $281k 
Gaming Cafe Simulator 2025 · $162k 
Rancher: A new life 2026 · EA · $159k 
Cafemart Simulator 2025 · EA · $148k 
Cafe Master Story 2023 · $147k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Brewpub Simulator | older | $17.99 | 521 56% | 16k | $281k (exactly $281,184) | Star Drifters |
| | Gaming Cafe Simulator | $13.99 | 385 83% | 12k | $162k (exactly $161,584) | Prapancha Studios | |
| | Rancher: A new life | · EA | $19.99 | 265 64% | 8.0k | $159k (exactly $158,920) | Sim Farm S.A. |
| | Cafemart Simulator | · EA | $7.99 | 616 72% | 18k | $148k (exactly $147,655) | Science Interactive |
| | Cafe Master Story | older | $12.99 | 378 96% | 11k | $147k (exactly $147,307) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
 | Sandwich Simulator | $4.99 | 901 77% | 27k | $135k (exactly $134,880) | FiftyEight Studios | |
 | Onigiri Shop Simulator | $8.99 | 431 96% | 13k | $116k (exactly $116,241) | Yagni Lab | |
 | Bartender VR Simulator | older | $19.99 | 168 56% | 5.0k | $101k (exactly $100,750) | VR Factory Games Sp. z o.o. |
 | Burger Bistro Story | older | $8.99 | 319 81% | 9.6k | $86k (exactly $86,034) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
 | Bonjour, Cream Inside 💦 | $14.99 | 119 68% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $53,514) | Juicy Peach Games 🍑 | |
 | Barman Simulator | $9.99 | 52 65% | 1.6k | $16k (exactly $15,584) | VirtualMind | |
 | Tasty Bite: Food dating simulator | $6.99 | 63 95% | 1.9k | $13k (exactly $13,211) | DuckMemeticsGames | |
 | Kimbap Heaven Simulator | · EA | $14.99 | 28 85% | 840 | $13k (exactly $12,592) | Joyful Jo |
 | Lost Abroad Café: A Language Learning Management Sim | $4.99 | 36 66% | 1.1k | $5.4k (exactly $5,389) | Lost Abroad |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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