Do I ship it?

Games › Shooter › Shooter + Creature Collector

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Creature Collector Shooter?

Shooter + Creature Collector

Of 22 developers who shipped a Creature Collector Shooter 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.. 26 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $2.3M, ×3732 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 26 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 26 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Creature Collector
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $6.9k → $599 → $5.4k → $1.3k → $38k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Creature Collector: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,338)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,136)
Top 5% $2.3M (exactly $2,343,562)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 61
Announced 26
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 45% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Shooter, Creature Collector; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 48,784 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $2.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair23 devs · median $9.8k · 17 announced
  2. + CollectathonFair69 devs · median $1.4k · 64 announced
  3. + VampiresFair38 devs · median $1.3k · 41 announced
  4. + Walking SimulatorFair68 devs · median $1.2k · 62 announced
  5. + IdlerFair70 devs · median $836 · 59 announced
  6. + Match 3Fair15 devs · median $719 · 5 announced
  7. + SnowFair22 devs · median $570 · 23 announced
  8. + Boss RushFair16 devs · median $537 · 20 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair85 devs · median $479 · 88 announced
  10. + ArcadeLong shot1,151 devs · median $419 · 1,332 announced
  11. + Score AttackLong shot372 devs · median $300 · 352 announced
  12. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds25 devs · median $139k · 45 announced

All 229 pairs on the Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Slime Rancher 2 2025 · $39M Voidling Bound 2026 · $2.3M Sapphire Safari 2025 · EA · $644k 最后的仙门 The last Practice Sect 2022 · $60k Karagon (Survival Robot Riding FPS) 2023 · $59k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Slime Rancher 2 $29.99 43,590 94% 1.3M $39M (exactly $39,217,923) Monomi Park
Voidling Bound $24.99 3,126 92% 94k $2.3M (exactly $2,343,562) Hatchery Games
Sapphire Safari · EA $12.99 1,653 92% 50k $644k (exactly $644,174) Kinky Fridays
最后的仙门 The last Practice Sect older $3.99 504 53% 15k $60k (exactly $60,329) 栖鸾工作室
Karagon (Survival Robot Riding FPS) older $19.99 99 44% 3.0k $59k (exactly $59,370) Tbjbu2 Originals
Idle Gumball Machine $4.99 255 90% 7.7k $38k (exactly $38,174) Antique Gear Games
Turqu-chan in the Hentai Laboratory older $10.99 111 80% 3.3k $37k (exactly $36,597) えくらんど
Gas Giant Voyage $7.99 60 91% 1.8k $14k (exactly $14,382) 1023 Technology
Kindred Fates: Combat Arena older $44.99 9 88% 270 $12k (exactly $12,147) Skymill Studios
DOLLMAKER $8.99 45 97% 1.4k $12k (exactly $12,136) STH
WarOfGods 2 $29.99 13 76% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Mensa World
Virballs $14.99 12 100% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Bolder Games, Chimera Studios
Seeker Quest: The Creature Collector $6.99 14 100% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) Jestercraft
Camelbirds $5.99 16 81% 480 $2.9k (exactly $2,875) 5Centov

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