Games › Crafting › Crafting + Western
Should I ship a Western Crafting game?
Crafting + Western
Only 13 developers shipped a Western 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, Saloon Simulator, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 23 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $69k, ×109 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $33k; 1 in 20 cleared $480k, ×780 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 23 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $33k (exactly $32,526) |
|---|---|
| Median | $69k (exactly $68,609) |
| Top 25% | $211k (exactly $211,415) |
| Top 5% | $490k (exactly $489,942) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 36 |
| Announced | 23 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $16.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Open World, Action
- Price point
- $16.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $16.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 3,567 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $33k. 4 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different setting or mood, 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
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
Comparable games
Railway Empire 2018 · $6.5M 
This Land Is My Land 2021 · $3.8M 
Outlaws of the Old West 2019 · EA · $3.3M 
Railway Empire 2 2023 · $2.9M 
Heat 2020 · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Railway Empire | older | $29.99 | 7,219 82% | 217k | $6.5M (exactly $6,494,934) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | This Land Is My Land | older | $29.99 | 4,248 68% | 127k | $3.8M (exactly $3,821,926) | Game-Labs |
| | Outlaws of the Old West | · EA older | $19.99 | 5,584 58% | 168k | $3.3M (exactly $3,348,725) | Virtual Basement LLC |
| | Railway Empire 2 | older | $49.99 | 1,966 72% | 59k | $2.9M (exactly $2,948,410) | Gaming Minds Studios |
| | Heat | older | $19.99 | 2,612 49% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,566,416) | Code}{atch |
 | Wild West Legacy | older | $26.99 | 1,706 39% | 51k | $1.4M (exactly $1,381,348) | Moon Punch Studio |
 | Above Snakes | older | $24.99 | 1,574 74% | 47k | $1.2M (exactly $1,180,028) | Square Glade Games |
 | The Oregon Trail | older | $29.99 | 1,220 79% | 37k | $1.1M (exactly $1,097,634) | Gameloft |
 | Wild Bastards | older | $34.99 | 616 74% | 18k | $647k (exactly $646,615) | Blue Manchu |
 | Saloon Simulator | · EA | $18.99 | 860 89% | 26k | $490k (exactly $489,942) | Glivi Games S.A. |
 | Alaska Gold Fever | $16.99 | 959 79% | 29k | $489k (exactly $488,802) | Baked Games | |
 | Wild Indigo Ranch | $19.99 | 424 68% | 13k | $254k (exactly $254,273) | Funday Games | |
 | Tombwater | $24.99 | 282 92% | 8.5k | $211k (exactly $211,415) | Moth Atlas | |
 | Cattle Country | $18.99 | 335 86% | 10k | $191k (exactly $190,849) | Castle Pixel, LLC. | |
 | Dino Path Trail | $14.99 | 197 76% | 5.9k | $89k (exactly $88,591) | Void Pointer | |
 | Western Rye | · EA | $21.99 | 104 53% | 3.1k | $69k (exactly $68,609) | Nixalon Studios |
 | Wild West Supermarket Simulator | $12.99 | 168 63% | 5.0k | $65k (exactly $65,470) | SunDust | |
 | Frontier Legends | · EA | $29.99 | 57 40% | 1.7k | $51k (exactly $51,283) | Neojac Entertainment Inc. |
 | Wild West Miner Simulator | $5.99 | 181 66% | 5.4k | $33k (exactly $32,526) | Digital Melody |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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