Games › Simulation › Simulation + Dogs
Should I ship a Dog Simulation game?
Simulation + Dogs
Of 80 developers who shipped a Dog 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.. 96 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $560k, ×901 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 96 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,449) |
| Top 5% | $566k (exactly $565,911) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 80 |
| Released games | 211 |
| Announced | 96 |
| 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 down 65% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Dogs
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Life Sim, Adventure, Building
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 10,688 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
Wobbledogs 2022 · $8.3M 
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin 2020 · $4.5M 
No Place Like Home 2022 · $2.3M 
Animal Shelter 2022 · $2.2M 
STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town 2021 · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Wobbledogs | older | $19.99 | 13,770 98% | 413k | $8.3M (exactly $8,257,869) | Animal Uprising |
| | Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin | older | $29.99 | 5,004 92% | 150k | $4.5M (exactly $4,502,099) | Edelweiss |
| | No Place Like Home | older | $19.99 | 3,784 78% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,269,265) | Chicken Launcher |
| | Animal Shelter | older | $19.99 | 3,642 87% | 109k | $2.2M (exactly $2,184,107) | Games Incubator |
| | STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town | older | $39.99 | 1,357 82% | 41k | $1.6M (exactly $1,627,993) | Marvelous Inc. |
 | Way of the Hunter 2 | · EA | $34.99 | 1,534 73% | 46k | $1.6M (exactly $1,610,240) | Nine Rocks Games |
 | Sakura Spirit | older | $9.99 | 4,877 77% | 146k | $1.5M (exactly $1,461,637) | Winged Cloud |
 | STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life | older | $39.99 | 1,199 78% | 36k | $1.4M (exactly $1,438,440) | Marvelous Inc. |
 | Fuga: Melodies of Steel | older | $39.99 | 1,181 93% | 35k | $1.4M (exactly $1,416,846) | CyberConnect2 |
 | Calico | older | $11.99 | 3,238 88% | 97k | $1.2M (exactly $1,164,709) | Peachy Keen Games |
 | Animal Shelter 2 | $24.99 | 1,204 79% | 36k | $903k (exactly $902,639) | Games Incubator | |
 | Restore Your Island | $12.99 | 1,631 77% | 49k | $636k (exactly $635,601) | Paiband Game Studio | |
 | Anthro Heat | $29.99 | 629 92% | 19k | $566k (exactly $565,911) | Blue Lizard Studios | |
 | Maltese's Fluffy Onsen | $5.99 | 2,727 94% | 82k | $490k (exactly $490,042) | Sinkhole Studio, Moonlab Studio | |
 | Above the Snow | $24.99 | 383 75% | 11k | $287k (exactly $287,135) | Above the Desk | |
 | Gaucho and the Grassland | $19.99 | 410 96% | 12k | $246k (exactly $245,877) | Epopeia Games | |
 | Exotica 2: Pet Shop Simulator | $14.99 | 529 75% | 16k | $238k (exactly $237,891) | Konrul Game | |
 | Lyca | $4.99 | 1,282 81% | 38k | $192k (exactly $191,915) | Syphono4 | |
 | Milfylicious - Chapter I | $14.99 | 359 81% | 11k | $161k (exactly $161,442) | Maximus |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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