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Should I ship a Dog Puzzle game?
Puzzle + Dogs
Of 93 developers who shipped a Dog Puzzle 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.. 80 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $150. Revenue is flat on the market; 80 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $2.8k (exactly $2,781) |
| Top 5% | $39k (exactly $39,360) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 93 |
| Released games | 322 |
| Announced | 80 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $2.99 |
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 as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $2.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 4,836 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Medical SimFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + VampiresFair
- + CatsFair
- + DemonsFair
- + God GameFair
- + RomanceFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + LemmingsFair
Comparable games
Valiant Hearts: The Great War™ / Soldats Inconnus : Mémoires de la Grande Guerre™ 2014 · $11M 
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective 2023 · $5.8M 
Enigma of Fear 2024 · $2.7M 
Sam & Max Save the World 2020 · $1.0M 
PHOGS! 2020 · $878k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Valiant Hearts: The Great War™ / Soldats Inconnus : Mémoires de la Grande Guerre™ | older | $14.99 | 24,468 95% | 734k | $11M (exactly $11,003,260) | Ubisoft Montpellier |
| | Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective | older | $29.99 | 6,429 97% | 193k | $5.8M (exactly $5,784,171) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Enigma of Fear | $29.99 | 3,045 95% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) | Dumativa, Cellbit | |
| | Sam & Max Save the World | older | $19.99 | 1,745 94% | 52k | $1.0M (exactly $1,046,476) | Skunkape Games |
| | PHOGS! | older | $24.99 | 1,171 78% | 35k | $878k (exactly $877,899) | Bit Loom Games |
 | Railbound | older | $12.99 | 1,818 94% | 55k | $708k (exactly $708,475) | Afterburn |
 | HUMANITY | older | $29.99 | 488 92% | 15k | $439k (exactly $439,054) | tha ltd., Enhance |
 | Samorost 2 | older | $4.99 | 2,462 87% | 74k | $369k (exactly $368,561) | Amanita Design |
 | Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space | older | $19.99 | 491 99% | 15k | $294k (exactly $294,453) | Skunkape Games |
 | Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse | older | $19.99 | 425 98% | 13k | $255k (exactly $254,872) | Skunkape Games |
 | Dogpile | $9.99 | 708 95% | 21k | $212k (exactly $212,188) | Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot | |
 | Koira | $17.99 | 289 93% | 8.7k | $156k (exactly $155,973) | Studio Tolima | |
 | Stars In The Trash | $11.99 | 279 97% | 8.4k | $100k (exactly $100,356) | Valhalla Cats | |
 | Pup Champs | $12.99 | 101 98% | 3.0k | $39k (exactly $39,360) | Afterburn | |
 | The Good Dog: Chasing Shadows | · EA | $14.99 | 79 86% | 2.4k | $36k (exactly $35,526) | Poultry Party Games |
 | Puppergeist | $4.99 | 156 95% | 4.7k | $23k (exactly $23,353) | Serenity Forge | |
 | Roguematch : The Extraplanar Invasion | $14.99 | 33 84% | 990 | $15k (exactly $14,840) | Starstruck Games | |
 | Dawg Game | $3.99 | 104 98% | 3.1k | $12k (exactly $12,449) | Big Noses Entertainment | |
 | Woolly Boy and the Circus | $7.99 | 42 64% | 1.3k | $10k (exactly $10,067) | big pineapple |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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