Do I ship it?

GamesCookingCooking + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cooking Time Management game?

Cooking + Time Management

Of 175 developers who shipped a Cooking Time 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.. 301 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×6.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×636 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 301 games are announced against 109 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 301 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Cooking + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 175
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $279k → $11k → $4.5k → $7.8k → $5.4k → $4.9k → $2.2k (still earning) → $959 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Cooking + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 175
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,985)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,740)
Top 5% $302k (exactly $302,129)
Developers, 2 yr 175
Released games 343
Announced 301
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $7.99

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 35% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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, Time Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Life Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 25,909 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $300k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 7 in 10 of the 86 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 301 games are announced against 109 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Cooking with a different second tag, 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
Touhou Mystia's Izakaya older $5.99 29,517 98% 886k $5.3M (exactly $5,304,205) 二色幽紫蝶, Re零同人社
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
Papa's Freezeria Deluxe older $5.99 12,275 99% 368k $2.2M (exactly $2,205,818) Flipline Studios
Good Pizza, Great Pizza - Cooking Simulator Game older $9.99 6,261 87% 188k $1.9M (exactly $1,876,422) TapBlaze
Kaiju Princess 2 $17.99 3,107 96% 93k $1.7M (exactly $1,676,848) PantyParrot
Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition older $14.99 3,579 55% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) Klabater
Cook, Serve, Delicious! older $12.99 3,713 95% 111k $1.4M (exactly $1,446,956) Vertigo Gaming Inc.
Ravenous Devils older $4.99 9,477 92% 284k $1.4M (exactly $1,418,707) Bad Vices Games
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 older $19.99 2,013 49% 60k $1.2M (exactly $1,207,196) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Bloomtown: A Different Story $24.99 1,428 85% 43k $1.1M (exactly $1,070,572) Lazy Bear Games, Different Sense Games
KuloNiku: Bowl Up! $11.99 2,295 96% 69k $826k (exactly $825,512) Gambir Studio
The Chef's Shift $12.99 1,948 97% 58k $759k (exactly $759,136) Panitia GameDev
Papa's Pizzeria Deluxe $5.99 3,450 98% 104k $620k (exactly $619,965) Flipline Studios
Burgie's Cozy Kitchen · EA $6.99 1,470 96% 44k $308k (exactly $308,259) HeyNau
Cinnabunny $24.99 403 96% 12k $302k (exactly $302,129) Reky Studios
Cook Serve Forever $29.99 333 69% 10k $300k (exactly $299,600) Vertigo Gaming Inc.

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