Do I ship it?

GamesShop KeeperShop Keeper + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 66 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shop Keeper + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.2k → $5.1k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shop Keeper + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
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.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $29k, 1 in 20 over $940k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 66 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shop Keeper with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds101 devs · median $13k · 122 announced
  2. + HorrorFair32 devs · median $5.1k · 55 announced
  3. + Psychological HorrorFair26 devs · median $5.1k · 44 announced
  4. + ModernFair27 devs · median $3.2k · 28 announced
  5. + StrategyFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  6. + LogicFair20 devs · median $1.5k · 27 announced
  7. + IncrementalFair56 devs · median $1.3k · 89 announced
  8. + Strategy RPGFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  9. + NaturePoor odds32 devs · median $31k · 59 announced
  10. + BuildingPoor odds140 devs · median $16k · 209 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds44 devs · median $16k · 96 announced
  12. + Co-opPoor odds40 devs · median $13k · 96 announced

All 48 pairs on the Shop Keeper page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.