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Should I ship a Puzzle Shop Keeper?
Shop Keeper + Puzzle
Of 40 developers who shipped a Puzzle Shop Keeper 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.. 66 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $940k, ×1987 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 66 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,242) |
| Top 25% | $30k (exactly $29,670) |
| Top 5% | $944k (exactly $943,928) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 50 |
| Announced | 66 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 95% on the market, supply 800% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Shop Keeper, Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Management
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cozy, Cute, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 43% positive over 27,097 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 66 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Shop Keeper with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + HorrorFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + ModernFair
- + StrategyFair
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + NaturePoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BidKing | $2.99 | 22,238 33% | 667k | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) | MindSurge Network & Games | |
| | Trash Goblin | $19.99 | 1,574 87% | 47k | $944k (exactly $943,928) | Spilt Milk Studios Ltd | |
| | No Umbrellas Allowed | older | $19.99 | 1,394 80% | 42k | $836k (exactly $835,982) | Hoochoo Game Studios |
| | Thrifty Business | $12.99 | 1,228 97% | 37k | $479k (exactly $478,552) | Spellgarden Games | |
| | Retail Hell | $7.99 | 532 95% | 16k | $128k (exactly $127,520) | LEAP Game Studios | |
| | BakeryDiary | $7.99 | 491 93% | 15k | $118k (exactly $117,693) | DanDanNi | |
| | Critter Café | $9.99 | 266 72% | 8.0k | $80k (exactly $79,720) | Sumo Digital | |
| | Piece by Piece | $11.99 | 180 91% | 5.4k | $65k (exactly $64,746) | Gamkat | |
| | The Repair House: Restoration Sim | older | $19.99 | 94 52% | 2.8k | $56k (exactly $56,372) | Claudiu Kiss, QUANTUM LOGIC GAMES |
| | Too Many Toys! | $5.99 | 268 97% | 8.0k | $48k (exactly $48,160) | 4ydam, Jakub T | |
| | Tidy Up Together | $5.99 | 221 80% | 6.6k | $40k (exactly $39,714) | Malum Games | |
| | Packing Life | $9.99 | 99 73% | 3.0k | $30k (exactly $29,670) | Aroko Game Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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