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Should I ship a Crafting God Game?
Crafting + God Game
Of 28 developers who shipped a Crafting God 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.. 59 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $450k, ×725 the market median. Revenue is up 655% on the market; 59 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,794) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $17,258) |
| Top 5% | $455k (exactly $455,068) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 104 |
| Announced | 59 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 655% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Crafting, God Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Building, Management
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 3,945 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
Craft The World 2014 · $8.6M 
Stonehearth 2018 · $6.4M 
SPORE™ Galactic Adventures 2009 · $4.3M 
Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition 2019 · $1.6M 
Sapiens 2022 · EA · $1.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Craft The World | older | $18.99 | 15,074 88% | 452k | $8.6M (exactly $8,587,658) | Dekovir Entertainment, Sibear Games |
| | Stonehearth | older | $19.99 | 10,652 76% | 320k | $6.4M (exactly $6,388,004) | Radiant Entertainment |
| | SPORE™ Galactic Adventures | older | $19.99 | 7,249 89% | 217k | $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) | EA - Maxis |
| | Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,579 55% | 107k | $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) | Klabater |
| | Sapiens | · EA older | $24.99 | 2,052 80% | 62k | $1.5M (exactly $1,538,384) | Majic Jungle |
 | The Settlers: New Allies | older | $39.99 | 1,175 49% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,409,648) | Ubisoft Düsseldorf |
 | Stardeus | · EA older | $29.99 | 1,430 87% | 43k | $1.3M (exactly $1,286,571) | Kodo Linija |
 | Fantasy Map Simulator | · EA older | $7.99 | 4,190 89% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) | The Stranger |
 | WW2 Rebuilder | older | $19.99 | 1,504 84% | 45k | $902k (exactly $901,949) | Madnetic Games |
 | Roman Triumph: Survival City Builder | $24.99 | 742 83% | 22k | $556k (exactly $556,277) | Coreffect Interactive | |
 | Masters of Albion | · EA | $24.99 | 607 64% | 18k | $455k (exactly $455,068) | 22cans |
 | Sinner Maker | · EA | $9.66 | 545 91% | 16k | $158k (exactly $157,941) | Pantokrator |
 | Execute | $5.99 | 679 91% | 20k | $122k (exactly $122,016) | Payne Robinson | |
 | Sandboxels | $0.99 | 1,108 94% | 33k | $33k (exactly $32,908) | R74n | |
 | Holiday Motel Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 49 63% | 1.5k | $19k (exactly $19,095) | Red Phoenix Interactive |
 | Kittens Game | · EA | $7.99 | 72 94% | 2.2k | $17k (exactly $17,258) | Nuclear Unicorn |
 | Hideko | $4.99 | 90 97% | 2.7k | $13k (exactly $13,473) | Sokpop Collective | |
 | CritterGarden | $9.99 | 28 82% | 840 | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) | Minjonia Studios | |
 | Sunset Sprout | $9.99 | 25 96% | 750 | $7.5k (exactly $7,492) | Fontty Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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