Do I ship it?

Games › Creature Collector › Creature Collector + Underwater

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underwater Creature Collector?

Creature Collector + Underwater

Of 49 developers who shipped an Underwater 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.. 64 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×278 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 64 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 64 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Creature Collector + Underwater
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 49
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $442k → $6.1k → $1.2k → $2.5k → $2.9k → $1.6k (still earning) → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Creature Collector + Underwater: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 49
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,615)
Top 25% $5.2k (exactly $5,211)
Top 5% $175k (exactly $174,680)
Developers, 2 yr 49
Released games 80
Announced 64
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 140% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Underwater
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Simulation, Fishing
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.49 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.49 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 14,037 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $5.2k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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

Cast n Chill 2025 · $3.8M Megaquarium 2018 · $2.6M Loddlenaut 2023 · $2.3M Chillquarium 2023 · $1.4M Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping 2025 · $761k
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
Loddlenaut older $19.99 3,832 98% 115k $2.3M (exactly $2,298,050) Moon Lagoon
Chillquarium older $5.99 7,780 92% 233k $1.4M (exactly $1,398,066) Ben Reber
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios
Aquarist older $15.99 950 81% 29k $456k (exactly $455,715) FreeMind S.A.
Fish Game older $24.99 589 93% 18k $442k (exactly $441,573) A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink… (A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink Games)
FISHERY · EA older $19.99 375 83% 11k $225k (exactly $224,887) Lilou Studio
Fantasy Aquarium $6.99 833 79% 25k $175k (exactly $174,680) MOON SCAPE
Creatura older $14.99 214 67% 6.4k $96k (exactly $96,236) Koksny.com
Joyquarium $5.99 475 90% 14k $85k (exactly $85,358) Easyfun Studio
With Me: Aquatic Time · EA $9.99 153 88% 4.6k $46k (exactly $45,854) Sensory Patch Games
Zen Aquarium $4.99 302 93% 9.1k $45k (exactly $45,209) Astro Cat
Idlequarium $5.99 231 75% 6.9k $42k (exactly $41,511) NutsX
Desktop Fishes $5.99 128 82% 3.8k $23k (exactly $23,002) Daniel Santalla
Lofi aquarium $5.99 87 77% 2.6k $16k (exactly $15,634) LitheGame
Post Apocalypse Microbe Lab $7.99 59 94% 1.8k $14k (exactly $14,142) SKIPMORE, URARA-WORKS

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