Do I ship it?

GamesPvPPvP + Cooking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP Cooking game?

PvP + Cooking

Of 21 developers who shipped a PvP 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.. 45 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $98k, ×66 the market median. Revenue is up 480% on the market; 45 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 480% on the market, 45 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Cooking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $358 → $479 → $2.7k → $719 → $419 → $4.2k (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + Cooking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,440)
Top 25% $4.2k (exactly $4,190)
Top 5% $98k (exactly $98,484)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 84
Announced 45
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 480% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
PvP, Cooking; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Character Customization
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Family Friendly, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 51% positive over 12,510 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $98k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Black Desert older $9.99 63,052 75% 1.9M $19M (exactly $18,896,684) Pearl Abyss
Overcooked older $16.99 13,528 89% 406k $6.9M (exactly $6,895,222) Ghost Town Games Ltd.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat older $39.99 5,744 73% 172k $6.9M (exactly $6,891,077) Team17 Digital, Ghost Town Games
The Quinfall $9.99 12,073 50% 362k $3.6M (exactly $3,618,278) Vawraek Technology Inc.
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 older $19.99 2,013 49% 60k $1.2M (exactly $1,207,196) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Diner Bros older $9.99 817 90% 25k $245k (exactly $244,855) JAYFLGAMES
Let's Cook Together older $15.99 211 97% 6.3k $101k (exactly $101,217) Yellow Dot
Pizza Slice $14.99 219 56% 6.6k $98k (exactly $98,484) Quest Craft, Gaming Factory
Clash of Chefs VR older $19.99 127 79% 3.8k $76k (exactly $76,162) Flat Hill Games
Cannibal Cuisine older $12.99 162 85% 4.9k $63k (exactly $63,131) Rocket Vulture
GladiEATers · EA $14.99 69 92% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) MilkBubblesGames
Let's Cook Together 2 $23.99 37 75% 1.1k $27k (exactly $26,629) Yellow Dot
Upgradia · EA $9.99 32 65% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) Mytharia
Summer Delicious Simulator $3.99 35 71% 1.1k $4.2k (exactly $4,190) BitRaiders Games
Dough or Die · EA $7.99 16 100% 480 $3.8k (exactly $3,835) Soundbyte Interactive
PizzaPanic $8.99 10 80% 300 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) Catnip Lab
Fade Survival · EA $14.99 5 60% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) Phoenix Gaming Studios
Shawarma Wars $4.99 14 92% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Simply The Best

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