Do I ship it?

Games › Open World › Open World + Creature Collector

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Creature Collector Open World game?

Open World + Creature Collector

Of 93 developers who shipped a Creature Collector Open World 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.. 208 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $13k, ×8.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.9M, ×1286 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 208 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.4 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 208 announced, ×5.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Creature Collector
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 93
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $20k → $91k → $2.4k → $37k → $13k → $13k → $22k (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + Creature Collector: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 93
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,166)
Median $13k (exactly $12,529)
Top 25% $139k (exactly $138,957)
Top 5% $1.9M (exactly $1,925,979)
Developers, 2 yr 93
Released games 212
Announced 208
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $11.99

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

Free games: 12%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Creature Collector
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Open World, Creature Collector; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, RPG
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $25.00 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $25.00 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 485,812 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $13k, 1 in 4 over $130k, 1 in 20 over $1.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 6 in 10 of the 60 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 208 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Open World with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Palworld 2026 · $371M Slime Rancher 2 2025 · $39M Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection 2026 · $12M Little Witch in the Woods 2025 · $7.0M Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch™ Remastered 2019 · $6.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Palworld $29.99 411,947 94% 12M $371M (exactly $370,628,716) Pocketpair
Slime Rancher 2 $29.99 43,590 94% 1.3M $39M (exactly $39,217,923) Monomi Park
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection $69.99 5,605 77% 168k $12M (exactly $11,768,818) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Little Witch in the Woods $19.99 11,691 89% 351k $7.0M (exactly $7,011,093) SUNNY SIDE UP
Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch™ Remastered older $49.99 4,023 83% 121k $6.0M (exactly $6,033,293) LEVEL5 Inc., QLOC
Cassette Beasts older $19.99 8,976 94% 269k $5.4M (exactly $5,382,907) Bytten Studio
Digimon World: Next Order older $59.99 2,331 80% 70k $4.2M (exactly $4,195,101) HYDE, Inc.
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure older $16.99 6,799 97% 204k $3.5M (exactly $3,465,450) ustwo games
Loddlenaut older $19.99 3,832 98% 115k $2.3M (exactly $2,298,050) Moon Lagoon
Let's Build a Zoo older $19.99 3,722 89% 112k $2.2M (exactly $2,232,083) Springloaded
Promise Mascot Agency $24.99 2,569 96% 77k $1.9M (exactly $1,925,979) Kaizen Game Works
Towers of Aghasba · EA $29.99 1,904 67% 57k $1.7M (exactly $1,713,029) Dreamlit inc.
Yaoling: Mythical Journey $19.99 2,854 90% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,711,544) RAYKA STUDIO
Nice Day for Fishing $19.99 2,609 86% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,564,617) FusionPlay
Witchspire · EA $22.99 1,849 82% 55k $1.3M (exactly $1,275,255) Envar Games
Wicked Island · EA $34.99 1,194 76% 36k $1.3M (exactly $1,253,342) RawDarkness

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