Do I ship it?

Games › Creature Collector › Creature Collector + Economy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Creature Collector Economy game?

Creature Collector + Economy

Of 57 developers who shipped a Creature Collector Economy 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.. 107 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×7.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×419 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 107 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 107 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Economy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $659 → $3.8k → $3.0k → $27k → $7.8k → $2.8k (still earning) → $2.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Economy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $1.7k (exactly $1,678)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,549)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $36,195)
Top 5% $263k (exactly $262,951)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 97
Announced 107
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 55% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Creature Collector
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Creature Collector, Economy; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Idler, Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 19,028 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.7k, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $36k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 7 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 107 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Creature Collector with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Perma DeathFair30 devs · median $5.3k · 33 announced
  2. + Bullet HellFair24 devs · median $3.4k · 33 announced
  3. + CapitalismFair38 devs · median $3.2k · 38 announced
  4. + LootFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  5. + IdlerFair248 devs · median $2.1k · 260 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair177 devs · median $1.9k · 191 announced
  7. + Action RoguelikeFair39 devs · median $1.8k · 54 announced
  8. + SpaceFair30 devs · median $1.5k · 39 announced
  9. + ZombiesFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 10 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair73 devs · median $629 · 85 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds31 devs · median $28k · 82 announced
  12. + Dating SimPoor odds14 devs · median $23k · 43 announced

All 133 pairs on the Creature Collector page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cast n Chill 2025 · $3.8M Megaquarium 2018 · $2.6M Let's Build a Zoo 2021 · $2.2M Chillquarium 2023 · $1.4M Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping 2025 · $761k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cast n Chill $14.99 8,383 94% 251k $3.8M (exactly $3,769,835) Wombat Brawler
Megaquarium older $24.99 3,444 95% 103k $2.6M (exactly $2,581,967) Twice Circled
Let's Build a Zoo older $19.99 3,722 89% 112k $2.2M (exactly $2,232,083) Springloaded
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios
Your Big, Cute Monster Farm $7.99 1,097 78% 33k $263k (exactly $262,951) KaiPlay Studio
Monster Care Simulator $12.99 644 91% 19k $251k (exactly $250,967) Banana Tiger Studio
Cornerpond $2.99 2,567 97% 77k $230k (exactly $230,260) foolsroom
Monster Lab Simulator · EA $12.99 505 70% 15k $197k (exactly $196,798) Round 3 Studios
Bugtopia $5.99 866 92% 26k $156k (exactly $155,620) Nocturnal Games
Berserk B.I.T.S $6.99 667 81% 20k $140k (exactly $139,870) BerserkBoy Games
Black Hole Fishing $5.99 571 88% 17k $103k (exactly $102,609) SDG Games
GeckoShop $9.99 342 66% 10k $102k (exactly $102,497) Reptoid

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