Do I ship it?

Games › Creature Collector › Creature Collector + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Resource Management Creature Collector?

Creature Collector + Resource Management

Of 123 developers who shipped a Resource Management 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.. 212 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×198 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 212 games are announced against 82 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 212 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 123
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.1k → $407k → $5.7k → $2.3k → $3.6k → $1.6k → $1.9k (still earning) → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 123
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,997)
Top 5% $124k (exactly $124,159)
Developers, 2 yr 123
Released games 189
Announced 212
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 95% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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, Resource Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Idler, Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 14,198 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 212 games are announced against 82 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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 Cat God Ranch 2024 · $549k
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
Cat God Ranch older $9.99 1,831 92% 55k $549k (exactly $548,751) CrazyPotato Studio
Aquarist older $15.99 950 81% 29k $456k (exactly $455,715) FreeMind S.A.
Spirittea older $19.99 678 84% 20k $407k (exactly $406,597) Cheesemaster Games
Atrio: The Dark Wild older $19.99 563 78% 17k $338k (exactly $337,631) Isto Inc.
Your Big, Cute Monster Farm $7.99 1,097 78% 33k $263k (exactly $262,951) KaiPlay Studio
Cornerpond $2.99 2,567 97% 77k $230k (exactly $230,260) foolsroom
Tabletop Game Shop Simulator $12.99 480 84% 14k $187k (exactly $187,056) Ludogram, Knight Fever Games
Stackmon $13.99 364 75% 11k $153k (exactly $152,771) Riftpoint Entertainment
NEODUEL: Backpack Monsters $11.99 357 79% 11k $128k (exactly $128,413) dicehit, Rogue Duck Interactive
Honeycomb: The World Beyond $29.99 138 65% 4.1k $124k (exactly $124,159) Frozen Way
Time to Morp $19.99 178 79% 5.3k $107k (exactly $106,747) Team HalfBeard
Black Hole Fishing $5.99 571 88% 17k $103k (exactly $102,609) SDG Games
Farmagia $49.99 63 46% 1.9k $94k (exactly $94,481) Marvelous Inc.

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