Should I ship a Loot Fishing game?
Loot + Fishing
Of 22 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 39 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2084 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 39 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $178 (exactly $178) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $14,671) |
| Top 5% | $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 42 |
| Announced | 39 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 45% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Loot, Fishing; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Character Customization
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Cozy
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 14,621 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Loot with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds
- + Local Co-OpStrong odds
- + SteampunkStrong odds
- + CapitalismFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + JRPGFair
- + EconomyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + CatsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
DYSMANTLE 2021 · $6.6M 
Battle Chasers: Nightwar 2017 · $5.0M 
FlyKnight 2025 · $1.9M 
Salt 2: Shores of Gold 2025 · $1.3M 
FATE 2013 · $981k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DYSMANTLE | older | $19.99 | 11,022 91% | 331k | $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) | 10tons Ltd |
| | Battle Chasers: Nightwar | older | $29.99 | 5,573 87% | 167k | $5.0M (exactly $5,014,028) | Airship Syndicate |
| | FlyKnight | $5.99 | 10,432 96% | 313k | $1.9M (exactly $1,874,630) | Wabbaboy | |
| | Salt 2: Shores of Gold | $19.99 | 2,182 85% | 65k | $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) | Lavaboots Studios | |
| | FATE | older | $7.99 | 4,092 95% | 123k | $981k (exactly $980,852) | WildTangent |
 | FATE: Reawakened | $24.99 | 758 73% | 23k | $568k (exactly $568,273) | gamigo US Inc., Tableflip Entertainment… (gamigo US Inc., Tableflip Entertainment AB) | |
 | Captain Whiskers: Incremental Seas | $5.99 | 886 85% | 27k | $159k (exactly $159,214) | Happy Universe Studios | |
 | FATE: The Cursed King | older | $7.99 | 484 93% | 15k | $116k (exactly $116,015) | WildTangent |
 | Lured In | $7.99 | 151 84% | 4.5k | $36k (exactly $36,195) | Big Boy Games | |
 | Arctic Anxiety | · EA older | $2.99 | 285 55% | 8.6k | $26k (exactly $25,565) | Arctic Studio |
 | Grove Fisher | $4.99 | 98 67% | 2.9k | $15k (exactly $14,671) | EVIL CORP GAMES | |
 | Post Apocalypse Microbe Lab | $7.99 | 59 94% | 1.8k | $14k (exactly $14,142) | SKIPMORE, URARA-WORKS | |
 | Whistling Waters | $9.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | Luna Apps | |
 | Surviving Skeleton Island | $9.99 | 14 64% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Bert Games | |
 | Catfish Idle Pond | $4.99 | 23 100% | 690 | $3.4k (exactly $3,443) | Full Bridge LLC |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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