Do I ship it?

GamesCookingCooking + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Cooking game?

Cooking + Sci-fi

Only 18 developers shipped a Sci-fi Cooking game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Kemono Teatime, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 41 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $16k, ×35 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $630k, ×1327 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 41 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 34.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 41 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Cooking + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $4.5k → $93k → $12k → $5.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Cooking + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Median $16k (exactly $16,484)
Top 25% $139k (exactly $138,694)
Top 5% $630k (exactly $630,145)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 36
Announced 41
Effort 4 / 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 down 95% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Cooking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Cooking; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Choose Your Own Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 4,183 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.7k, median $16k, 1 in 4 over $130k, 1 in 20 over $630k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.7k. 3 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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
Stranded: Alien Dawn older $34.99 9,715 84% 291k $10M (exactly $10,197,836) Haemimont Games
Arctic Eggs older $9.99 5,343 95% 160k $1.6M (exactly $1,601,297) The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie,… (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex)
Chef RPG · EA older $19.99 2,593 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,555,022) World 2 Studio
Kemono Teatime $12.99 1,617 95% 49k $630k (exactly $630,145) Studio Lalala, Kotoneiro, WHO YOU
Cook Serve Forever $29.99 333 69% 10k $300k (exactly $299,600) Vertigo Gaming Inc.
GIRLS MADE PUDDING $9.99 866 95% 26k $260k (exactly $259,540) Kazuhide Oka
MeteoriteFall $12.99 651 78% 20k $254k (exactly $253,695) ST studio
Spacelines from the Far Out older $14.99 457 75% 14k $206k (exactly $205,513) Coffeenauts
Pizza Bandit · EA $24.99 185 82% 5.6k $139k (exactly $138,694) JOFSOFT
Sky End Market · EA $18.99 164 96% 4.9k $93k (exactly $93,431) Andymente
Space Chef $14.99 105 73% 3.2k $47k (exactly $47,218) Blue Goo Games
Burger Bots Inc. $7.99 109 91% 3.3k $26k (exactly $26,127) Normogames
Cyber Farmer $9.99 55 45% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) FreeMind S.A.
Songs of Yummy $3.99 98 74% 2.9k $12k (exactly $11,731) DreamStep, FUTU Studio

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