Do I ship it?

Games › Creature Collector › Creature Collector + Simulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Creature Collector Simulation game?

Creature Collector + Simulation

Of 342 developers who shipped a Creature Collector Simulation 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.. 542 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×641 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 542 games are announced against 203 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 542 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Simulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 342
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.7k → $5.7k → $3.8k → $2.3k → $4.8k → $3.8k → $1.8k (still earning) → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Simulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 342
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,399)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,854)
Top 5% $403k (exactly $402,616)
Developers, 2 yr 342
Released games 643
Announced 542
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 45% more 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Creature Collector
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Simulation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Management, Life Sim
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 94,070 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 $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $400k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 171 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 542 games are announced against 203 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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

Slime Rancher 2 2025 · $39M Little Witch in the Woods 2025 · $7.0M Digimon World: Next Order 2023 · $4.2M Cast n Chill 2025 · $3.8M Megaquarium 2018 · $2.6M
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
Little Witch in the Woods $19.99 11,691 89% 351k $7.0M (exactly $7,011,093) SUNNY SIDE UP
Digimon World: Next Order older $59.99 2,331 80% 70k $4.2M (exactly $4,195,101) HYDE, Inc.
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
Moonstone Island older $19.99 4,063 84% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,436,581) Studio Supersoft
Rune Factory 5 older $39.99 1,940 76% 58k $2.3M (exactly $2,327,418) Marvelous Inc.
Let's Build a Zoo older $19.99 3,722 89% 112k $2.2M (exactly $2,232,083) Springloaded
Nexomon: Extinction older $19.99 3,713 90% 111k $2.2M (exactly $2,226,686) VEWO Interactive Inc.
Creature Kitchen $7.99 9,046 99% 271k $2.2M (exactly $2,168,326) The Rat Zone
Promise Mascot Agency $24.99 2,569 96% 77k $1.9M (exactly $1,925,979) Kaizen Game Works
Yaoling: Mythical Journey $19.99 2,854 90% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,711,544) RAYKA STUDIO
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
Horsey Game $9.99 2,911 97% 87k $872k (exactly $872,427) Captain Games
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios

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