Do I ship it?

GamesCookingCooking + Romance

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Romance Cooking game?

Cooking + Romance

Of 42 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 63 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $12k, ×24 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×3530 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 63 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 24.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 63 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Cooking + Romance
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $46k → $15k → $42k → $49k → $2.7k → $4.1k (still earning) → $98k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Cooking + Romance: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Median $12k (exactly $11,550)
Top 25% $95k (exactly $95,352)
Top 5% $1.7M (exactly $1,676,848)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 91
Announced 63
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $10.99

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 90% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Romance
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Dating Sim, Visual Novel
Price point
$10.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Anime, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 41,757 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $12k, 1 in 4 over $95k, 1 in 20 over $1.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 6 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Cooking with a different setting or mood, 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
The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty older $9.99 49,765 94% 1.5M $15M (exactly $14,914,570) 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame)
Fields of Mistria $13.99 31,918 96% 958k $13M (exactly $13,395,985) NPC Studio
STORY OF SEASONS: Grand Bazaar $49.99 3,140 93% 94k $4.7M (exactly $4,709,058) Marvelous Inc.
Fae Farm older $29.99 2,741 78% 82k $2.5M (exactly $2,466,078) Phoenix Labs
Kaiju Princess 2 $17.99 3,107 96% 93k $1.7M (exactly $1,676,848) PantyParrot
STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town older $39.99 1,357 82% 41k $1.6M (exactly $1,627,993) Marvelous Inc.
Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition older $14.99 3,579 55% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) Klabater
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 older $19.99 2,013 49% 60k $1.2M (exactly $1,207,196) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
SunnySide older $19.99 913 67% 27k $548k (exactly $547,526) Aftabi Games
To Pixelia $14.99 1,194 73% 36k $537k (exactly $536,942) Pixeduo Studios
Maid Cafe on Electric Street $18.99 595 82% 18k $339k (exactly $338,972) Adventurer's Tavern
Kurage Life $10.99 588 90% 18k $194k (exactly $193,864) TAIL-AKI
Waning Flowers of a World Eternal - The Rainbow Appears After Flowering Rain $19.99 297 96% 8.9k $178k (exactly $178,111) SWEET&TEA
On Your Tail $19.99 292 87% 8.8k $175k (exactly $175,112) Memorable Games
Coffee & Boobs $7.99 463 74% 14k $111k (exactly $110,981) TopHouse Studio
High Times $19.99 163 90% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Yangyang Mobile

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