Do I ship it?

GamesCreature CollectorCreature Collector + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Creature Collector?

Creature Collector + Idler

Of 248 developers who shipped an Idler Creature Collector 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.. 260 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×3.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $600. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 260 games are announced against 161 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 260 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 248
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $5.7k → $5.7k → $1.9k → $2.8k → $3.3k → $1.8k (still earning) → $504 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 248
Bottom 30% $598 (exactly $598)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,063)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,634)
Top 5% $230k (exactly $230,260)
Developers, 2 yr 248
Released games 383
Announced 260
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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: 14%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Creature Collector, Idler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Incremental, Management
Price point
$4.99 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 $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 40,539 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $230k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 104 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 260 games are announced against 161 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + IncrementalFair177 devs · median $1.9k · 191 announced
  6. + Action RoguelikeFair39 devs · median $1.8k · 54 announced
  7. + SpaceFair30 devs · median $1.5k · 39 announced
  8. + ZombiesFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 10 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair73 devs · median $629 · 85 announced
  10. + Co-opPoor odds31 devs · median $28k · 82 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds14 devs · median $23k · 43 announced
  12. + MusicPoor odds12 devs · median $16k · 11 announced

All 133 pairs on the Creature Collector page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions older $11.99 15,211 97% 456k $5.5M (exactly $5,471,397) Mooncube Games
Cast n Chill $14.99 8,383 94% 251k $3.8M (exactly $3,769,835) Wombat Brawler
Berry Bury Berry $7.99 8,619 98% 259k $2.1M (exactly $2,065,974) Get(Color) Games
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
Tiny Pasture $5.99 7,055 92% 212k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) CaveLiquid
Multiverse Loot Hunter $11.99 2,585 80% 78k $930k (exactly $929,824) 游戏养家工作室
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios
Ithya: Magic Studies $10.99 2,103 97% 63k $693k (exactly $693,359) BlueTurtle
Maltese's Fluffy Onsen $5.99 2,727 94% 82k $490k (exactly $490,042) Sinkhole Studio, Moonlab Studio
Birdwatching Notebook $9.99 1,588 97% 48k $476k (exactly $475,924) Biekka Games
Fish to Dish: Idle Sushi $5.99 2,525 96% 76k $454k (exactly $453,742) Kygua Tech
Fischer's Fishing Journey $7.99 1,568 91% 47k $376k (exactly $375,850) Cutefish

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