Do I ship it?

Games › Creature Collector › Creature Collector + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Creature Collector?

Creature Collector + Mystery

Of 34 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 84 more are announced, ×7.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×4.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $540k, ×869 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 84 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 84 announced, ×7.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Mystery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.0k → $861 → $150 → $3.6k → $899 → $3.1k → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,104)
Top 25% $46k (exactly $46,154)
Top 5% $545k (exactly $545,486)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 79
Announced 84
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 25% on the market, supply 50% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Mystery
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Creature Collector; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Story Rich, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 5,714 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 $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $46k, 1 in 20 over $540k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Creature Collector with a different setting or mood, 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

Soul Hackers 2 2022 · $4.1M RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army 2025 · $1.6M JASON, Coming of Age 2025 · $545k Europa 2024 · $350k Island Notes 2025 · $344k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Soul Hackers 2 older $59.99 2,300 65% 69k $4.1M (exactly $4,139,310) ATLUS
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army $49.99 1,045 93% 31k $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186) ATLUS
JASON, Coming of Age $14.99 1,213 83% 36k $545k (exactly $545,486) Coeur de cochon
Europa $14.99 778 85% 23k $350k (exactly $349,867) Helder Pinto, Chozabu (Alex PB), Novadu… (Helder Pinto, Chozabu (Alex PB), Novadust Entertainment)
Island Notes $12.99 884 82% 27k $344k (exactly $344,495) KangBaoGame
Penko Park older $13.99 602 98% 18k $253k (exactly $252,659) Ghostbutter
Zefyr: A Thief's Melody $19.99 401 96% 12k $240k (exactly $240,480) Oneiric Worlds
Psalm 5:9-13 older $3.99 1,852 83% 56k $222k (exactly $221,684) N4bA, Notex, a1esska
Paradise Marsh older $14.99 422 96% 13k $190k (exactly $189,773) LazyEti
Psalm 2 $7.99 631 88% 19k $151k (exactly $151,251) Notex, a1esska, N4bA
EMUUROM $12.49 302 90% 9.1k $113k (exactly $113,159) borbware
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime $16.99 143 98% 4.3k $73k (exactly $72,887) Bonte Avond
Sea Chronicles $9.99 154 90% 4.6k $46k (exactly $46,154) Madi Abdykarimov
Security: The Horrible Nights $4.99 163 88% 4.9k $24k (exactly $24,401) Professional Villains

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