Do I ship it?

GamesCraftingCrafting + Lovecraftian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Lovecraftian Crafting game?

Crafting + Lovecraftian

Only 17 developers shipped a Lovecraftian 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, Magicraft, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 39 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 $170k, ×277 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $21k; 1 in 20 cleared $7.2M, ×11497 the market median. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 276.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 120% on the market, 39 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Lovecraftian
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: $7.2k → $116k → $174k → $599 → $211k (still earning) → $677k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Lovecraftian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $20k (exactly $20,236)
Median $174k (exactly $173,913)
Top 25% $389k (exactly $388,990)
Top 5% $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 37
Announced 39
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $15.99

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 120% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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
Lovecraftian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Crafting; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
Price point
$15.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $15.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 24,898 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $21k, median $170k, 1 in 4 over $380k, 1 in 20 over $7.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $21k. 4 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  7. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  9. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  10. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  11. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced
  12. + Co-opPoor odds208 devs · median $38k · 576 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
Magicraft $15.99 15,051 92% 452k $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965) Wave Games
Cultist Simulator older $19.99 10,496 82% 315k $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) Weather Factory
Lucid Blocks $9.99 4,670 93% 140k $1.4M (exactly $1,399,599) Lucy B. Locks
Fade to Silence older $29.99 1,032 62% 31k $928k (exactly $928,490) Black Forest Games
Welcome to Elderfield $17.99 1,334 87% 40k $720k (exactly $719,960) Chris Cote
DIVE or DIE - Children of Rain $17.99 1,255 91% 38k $677k (exactly $677,323) Drop Rate Studio
Witchy Business $14.99 865 86% 26k $389k (exactly $388,990) Rogue Duck Interactive
Stygian: Outer Gods · EA $24.99 516 80% 15k $387k (exactly $386,845) Misterial Games
Shardpunk older $13.99 739 92% 22k $310k (exactly $310,158) Clockwork Pile
Alone in the Dark (2008) older $9.99 1,031 43% 31k $309k (exactly $308,991) Eden Games, Hydravision Entertainment
The Horror at Highrook $19.99 461 90% 14k $276k (exactly $276,462) Nullpointer Games
Tombwater $24.99 282 92% 8.5k $211k (exactly $211,415) Moth Atlas
RailGods of Hysterra · EA $19.99 290 51% 8.7k $174k (exactly $173,913) Troglobytes Games
Peregrino $16.99 174 65% 5.2k $89k (exactly $88,688) Inverge Studios

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