Do I ship it?

GamesFishingFishing + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fishing Puzzle game?

Fishing + Puzzle

Of 22 developers who shipped a Fishing 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.. 35 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×9.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×369 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 35 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 35 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Fishing + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.8k → $5.1k → $113k → $4.3k → $10k → $3.7k (still earning) → $2.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Fishing + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $4.3k (exactly $4,315)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,992)
Top 5% $175k (exactly $175,112)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 51
Announced 35
Effort 4 / 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 up 55% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Fishing, Puzzle; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Choices Matter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 1,790 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $4.3k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Fishing with a different second tag, 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
Cat Goes Fishing older $6.99 15,431 94% 463k $3.2M (exactly $3,235,881) Cat5Games
Aquarist older $15.99 950 81% 29k $456k (exactly $455,715) FreeMind S.A.
Spindle $19.99 315 95% 9.5k $189k (exactly $188,905) Wobble Ghost
On Your Tail $19.99 292 87% 8.8k $175k (exactly $175,112) Memorable Games
Lake of Creatures $12.49 354 92% 11k $133k (exactly $132,644) ANTENNA GAMES
Lighthouse Keeper older $11.99 336 81% 10k $121k (exactly $120,859) Stratera Games
myPOPGOES older $4.99 752 86% 23k $113k (exactly $112,574) Kane Carter
Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan older $19.99 147 91% 4.4k $88k (exactly $88,156) ManaVoid Entertainment
Shinehill $10.99 265 95% 8.0k $87k (exactly $87,370) Peach Bite
The Wide Open Sky is Running out of Catfish $14.99 57 100% 1.7k $26k (exactly $25,633) ZIPIT! Games
Skystead Ranch $24.99 28 71% 840 $21k (exactly $20,992) ToastieLabs
Mazey Village · EA $14.99 32 87% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) Slappy Inc.
Fishing at the Lake Full of Cats $0.99 345 99% 10k $10k (exactly $10,246) Cat Lake Games
Monmusu Paradise ~Visitors~ $4.99 66 74% 2.0k $9.9k (exactly $9,880) Siluman Soft
Fish 'n Ships $4.99 36 97% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) Squid Snooze Studio

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