Do I ship it?

GamesCraftingCrafting + Dinosaurs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dinosaur Crafting game?

Crafting + Dinosaurs

Only 17 developers shipped a Dinosaur Crafting 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, Amber Isle, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 35 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×8.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2113 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 35 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 35 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Dinosaurs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.3k → $484k → $807 → $14k → $5.4k (still earning) → $58k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Dinosaurs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $5.4k (exactly $5,395)
Top 25% $260k (exactly $260,146)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,326,969)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 45
Announced 35
Effort 6 / 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 100% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Crafting
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dinosaurs
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Crafting; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action-Adventure, Adventure, 2D Platformer
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Atmospheric
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 79% positive over 4,703 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $5.4k, 1 in 4 over $260k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Crafting with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ARK: Survival Evolved older $14.99 586,768 83% 18M $264M (exactly $263,869,570) Studio Wildcard, Instinct Games, Efecto… (Studio Wildcard, Instinct Games, Efecto Studios, Virtual Basement LLC)
ARK: Survival Ascended · EA older $44.99 106,761 60% 3.2M $144M (exactly $144,095,322) Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games, In… (Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games, Instinct Games)
PixARK older $19.99 11,142 73% 334k $6.7M (exactly $6,681,857) Snail Games USA
Amber Isle $24.99 1,770 82% 53k $1.3M (exactly $1,326,969) Ambertail Games
Grand Emprise: Time Travel Survival older $19.99 807 69% 24k $484k (exactly $483,958) Tbjbu2
Dinotica $17.99 746 86% 22k $403k (exactly $402,616) XA Studio
Deathground · EA $14.99 877 61% 26k $394k (exactly $394,387) Jaw Drop Games
Primal Planet $19.99 629 88% 19k $377k (exactly $377,211) Seethingswarm
Tamer: King of Dinosaurs · EA $24.99 347 86% 10k $260k (exactly $260,146) Ride the Lion Studios
Dynopunk older $14.99 456 93% 14k $205k (exactly $205,063) Tomato Fantasy Games
Dino Path Trail $14.99 197 76% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) Void Pointer
Spirit Animal Survival $19.99 96 62% 2.9k $58k (exactly $57,571) TRUEFX GAMES
Abyss: New Dawn · EA $24.99 19 63% 570 $14k (exactly $14,244) Aloya Productions
4 Classes, Many Paths $9.99 18 100% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) J. C. SpringBourne
Neanderthallica $7.99 4 100% 120 $959 (exactly $959) Cheers LLC

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