Do I ship it?

Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Desktop Companion

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Desktop Companion Sandbox?

Sandbox + Desktop Companion

Of 34 developers who shipped a Desktop Companion Sandbox 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.. 32 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×4.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $490k, ×780 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 32 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 32 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sandbox + Desktop Companion
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $187k → $28k → $1.6k (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sandbox + Desktop Companion: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $1.1k (exactly $1,075)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,055)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $24,875)
Top 5% $490k (exactly $490,042)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 40
Announced 32
Effort 6 / 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 down 95% on the market, supply 225% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Sandbox
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Desktop Companion
effort 1 / 10 · high · effort 1 sits in the high 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
Sandbox, Desktop Companion; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Idler, Simulation, Building
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 13,708 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $24k, 1 in 20 over $490k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 6 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FightingStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair20 devs · median $224k · 19 announced
  3. + World War IIFair14 devs · median $146k · 13 announced
  4. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $17k · 12 announced
  5. + ProgrammingFair60 devs · median $7.0k · 71 announced
  6. + CatsFair63 devs · median $4.8k · 74 announced
  7. + SportsFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  8. + GamblingFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 42 announced
  10. + Combat RacingFair21 devs · median $1.8k · 26 announced
  11. + Trading Card GameFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  12. + IdlerFair258 devs · median $1.2k · 306 announced

All 233 pairs on the Sandbox page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Tiny Pasture 2025 · $1.3M Maltese's Fluffy Onsen 2025 · $490k Birdwatching Notebook 2026 · $476k My Little Life 2025 · $187k Plantera 2: Golden Acorn 2023 · $178k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tiny Pasture $5.99 7,055 92% 212k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) CaveLiquid
Maltese's Fluffy Onsen $5.99 2,727 94% 82k $490k (exactly $490,042) Sinkhole Studio, Moonlab Studio
Birdwatching Notebook $9.99 1,588 97% 48k $476k (exactly $475,924) Biekka Games
My Little Life $5.99 1,043 89% 31k $187k (exactly $187,427) 9FingerGames
Plantera 2: Golden Acorn older $4.99 1,191 93% 36k $178k (exactly $178,293) VaragtP
Mushroom Nook $4.99 392 98% 12k $59k (exactly $58,682) HyperstasisGaming
Village Tale $5.99 268 81% 8.0k $48k (exactly $48,160) Knight Owl Games
Fluffy Kitchen Saga $6.99 221 64% 6.6k $46k (exactly $46,344) MEOW STORE GAME
Little Aviary $3.99 231 86% 6.9k $28k (exactly $27,651) atomco
Desktop Cat Cafe $9.99 83 75% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,875) samyam, lockyaw
Neko Station $6.99 100 88% 3.0k $21k (exactly $20,970) Sunny Syrup Studio, SECRET CHARACTER

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