Do I ship it?

GamesFishingFishing + Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fantasy Fishing game?

Fishing + Fantasy

Of 61 developers who shipped a Fantasy Fishing 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.. 130 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $560k, ×1196 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 130 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 130 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Fishing + Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 61
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $10k → $55k → $43k → $1.5k → $17k → $30k → $539 (still earning) → $2.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Fishing + Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 61
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,250)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $25,187)
Top 5% $568k (exactly $568,273)
Developers, 2 yr 61
Released games 133
Announced 130
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 70% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Fishing
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Fantasy
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Fishing; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Exploration
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Pixel Graphics, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 16,799 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $560k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 130 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Fishing with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FarmingFair31 devs · median $18k · 26 announced
  2. + AutomationFair40 devs · median $3.4k · 46 announced
  3. + IncrementalFair64 devs · median $1.8k · 87 announced
  4. + Score AttackFair11 devs · median $719 · 8 announced
  5. + ArcadeFair51 devs · median $716 · 64 announced
  6. + Co-opPoor odds39 devs · median $70k · 73 announced
  7. + RomancePoor odds14 devs · median $47k · 29 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds34 devs · median $36k · 85 announced
  9. + EconomyPoor odds49 devs · median $23k · 66 announced
  10. + CapitalismPoor odds15 devs · median $23k · 18 announced
  11. + AgriculturePoor odds48 devs · median $18k · 80 announced
  12. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $15k · 30 announced

All 77 pairs on the Fishing page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Disney Dreamlight Valley older $39.99 22,027 92% 661k $26M (exactly $26,425,792) Gameloft
Sun Haven older $24.99 22,069 79% 662k $17M (exactly $16,545,129) Pixel Sprout Studios
Battle Chasers: Nightwar older $29.99 5,573 87% 167k $5.0M (exactly $5,014,028) Airship Syndicate
Melvor Idle older $9.99 14,630 90% 439k $4.4M (exactly $4,384,611) Games by Malcs
Moonstone Island older $19.99 4,063 84% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,436,581) Studio Supersoft
Rune Factory 5 older $39.99 1,940 76% 58k $2.3M (exactly $2,327,418) Marvelous Inc.
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles older $24.99 2,908 81% 87k $2.2M (exactly $2,180,128) Prideful Sloth
FlyKnight $5.99 10,432 96% 313k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,630) Wabbaboy
Rune Factory 4 Special older $29.99 2,070 88% 62k $1.9M (exactly $1,862,379) Marvelous Inc.
Phoenotopia: Awakening older $19.99 2,755 82% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,652,173) Cape Cosmic
Farlands $17.99 1,628 89% 49k $879k (exactly $878,632) JanduSoft, Eric Rodríguez
Snacko $24.99 888 95% 27k $666k (exactly $665,734) Bluecurse Studios
FATE: Reawakened $24.99 758 73% 23k $568k (exactly $568,273) gamigo US Inc., Tableflip Entertainment… (gamigo US Inc., Tableflip Entertainment AB)
Mika and The Witch's Mountain $19.99 671 86% 20k $402k (exactly $402,399) Chibig, Nukefist
Island Notes $12.99 884 82% 27k $344k (exactly $344,495) KangBaoGame
Sea Fantasy $14.99 585 86% 18k $263k (exactly $263,074) METASLA
Spindle $19.99 315 95% 9.5k $189k (exactly $188,905) Wobble Ghost
Orange Season $14.99 364 59% 11k $164k (exactly $163,691) Innerfire Studios
Dragon Song Tavern: Cozy & Adventurous $19.90 274 71% 8.2k $164k (exactly $163,578) Etherous Games Limited

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