Should I ship a Dog PvP game?
PvP + Dogs
Only 14 developers shipped a Dog PvP game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Batomon Showdown, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.4k, ×2.9 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×98 the market median. Revenue is up 390% on the market; 33 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.4k (exactly $4,404) |
| Top 25% | $23k (exactly $22,904) |
| Top 5% | $147k (exactly $147,052) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 44 |
| Announced | 33 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 up 390% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 34%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Party Game, Combat
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Family Friendly, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 990 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare - Gold Edition 2014 · $13M 
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2021 · $6.5M 
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 2023 · $1.5M 
Everdell 2022 · $346k 
Batomon Showdown 2026 · $147k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare - Gold Edition | older | $39.99 | 11,103 64% | 333k | $13M (exactly $13,320,269) | Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software |
| | Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl | older | $49.99 | 4,311 75% | 129k | $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) | Ludosity, Fair Play Labs |
| | Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 | older | $49.99 | 1,013 81% | 30k | $1.5M (exactly $1,519,196) | Fair Play Labs |
| | Everdell | older | $19.99 | 577 90% | 17k | $346k (exactly $346,027) | Dire Wolf |
| | Batomon Showdown | $14.99 | 327 87% | 9.8k | $147k (exactly $147,052) | berrymint | |
 | PAW Patrol: Grand Prix | older | $29.99 | 71 81% | 2.1k | $64k (exactly $63,879) | 3DClouds |
 | NiuMa | $5.99 | 263 91% | 7.9k | $47k (exactly $47,261) | Game Star | |
 | Royalty Free-For-All | $11.99 | 104 86% | 3.1k | $37k (exactly $37,409) | AAAA Games, LLC | |
 | Bow-wow Battle | · EA | $4.99 | 153 77% | 4.6k | $23k (exactly $22,904) | M.Katsu |
 | Kemono Mahjong | older | $4.99 | 142 89% | 4.3k | $21k (exactly $21,257) | Cyberdog Software |
 | Claws & Chaos | $5.99 | 95 60% | 2.9k | $17k (exactly $17,072) | Parhelion Studio | |
 | PAW Patrol™ Rescue Wheels™: Championship | $39.99 | 10 80% | 300 | $12k (exactly $11,997) | 3DClouds | |
 | Mirror Throne: Auto Battler | $6.99 | 21 90% | 630 | $4.4k (exactly $4,404) | Zackavelli | |
 | Woofy Run | · EA | $4.99 | 14 78% | 420 | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) | ICON GAME STUDIO |
 | 料理乱斗 | $6.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $419 (exactly $419) | NanZhai Game | |
 | Agility Game | $3.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | Bookdragon development |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.