Do I ship it?

Games › Settings › Cats

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cat game?

Cats

Of 903 developers who shipped a Cat 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.. 1,165 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×9.1 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×1338 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 1,165 games are announced against 571 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 1,165 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Cats
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 903
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $2.4k → $2.0k → $2.1k → $1.3k → $1.2k → $899 (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Cats: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 903
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $6.2k (exactly $6,189)
Top 5% $159k (exactly $159,214)
Developers, 2 yr 903
Released games 2,599
Announced 1,165
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 20% on the market, supply 55% more developers than 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Cats
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 110,746 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 $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $6.1k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 582 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,165 games are announced against 571 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Cats

108 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Visual Novel + Cats Poor odds $1.9k 52 devs
  2. Inventory Management + Cats Poor odds $1.9k 17 devs
  3. Creature Collector + Cats Poor odds $1.9k 95 devs
  4. Immersive Sim + Cats Poor odds $1.8k 56 devs
  5. Life Sim + Cats Poor odds $1.8k 85 devs
  6. Combat + Cats Poor odds $1.7k 58 devs
  7. Multiple Endings + Cats Poor odds $1.7k 59 devs
  8. Roguelike + Cats Poor odds $1.6k 80 devs
  9. Hack and Slash + Cats Poor odds $1.6k 16 devs
  10. Adventure + Cats Poor odds $1.6k 280 devs
  11. Walking Simulator + Cats Poor odds $1.6k 34 devs
  12. Card Game + Cats Poor odds $1.5k 35 devs
  13. Solitaire + Cats Poor odds $1.5k 16 devs
  14. FPS + Cats Poor odds $1.5k 11 devs
  15. Collectathon + Cats Poor odds $1.5k 105 devs
  16. PvP + Cats Poor odds $1.4k 39 devs
  17. Rhythm + Cats Poor odds $1.4k 24 devs
  18. RPG + Cats Poor odds $1.3k 106 devs
  19. Roguelite + Cats Poor odds $1.3k 80 devs
  20. JRPG + Cats Poor odds $1.3k 21 devs
  21. Simulation + Cats Poor odds $1.3k 225 devs
  22. Shooter + Cats Poor odds $1.2k 36 devs
  23. Action Roguelike + Cats Poor odds $1.2k 51 devs
  24. Character Customization + Cats Poor odds $1.1k 102 devs
  25. Action-Adventure + Cats Poor odds $1.1k 89 devs
  26. Word Game + Cats Poor odds $1.1k 15 devs
  27. Interactive Fiction + Cats Poor odds $959 39 devs
  28. Top-Down Shooter + Cats Poor odds $959 22 devs
  29. Strategy + Cats Poor odds $899 137 devs
  30. Action + Cats Poor odds $898 220 devs
  31. Platformer + Cats Poor odds $838 118 devs
  32. Party Game + Cats Poor odds $802 23 devs
  33. Racing + Cats Poor odds $802 11 devs
  34. Cooking + Cats Poor odds $748 25 devs
  35. Choices Matter + Cats Poor odds $719 61 devs
  36. Level Editor + Cats Poor odds $719 9 devs
  37. Choose Your Own Adventure + Cats Poor odds $657 31 devs
  38. Turn-Based Tactics + Cats Poor odds $629 30 devs
  39. Board Game + Cats Poor odds $598 34 devs
  40. Grid-Based Movement + Cats Poor odds $598 23 devs
  41. Turn-Based Combat + Cats Poor odds $539 26 devs
  42. Tactical + Cats Poor odds $539 21 devs
  43. Time Management + Cats Poor odds $480 46 devs
  44. Precision Platformer + Cats Poor odds $479 40 devs
  45. Arcade + Cats Poor odds $449 151 devs
  46. 2D Platformer + Cats Poor odds $449 109 devs
  47. Match 3 + Cats Poor odds $298 23 devs
  48. Arena Shooter + Cats Dead $7.7k 7 devs
  49. Perma Death + Cats Dead $1.8k 14 devs
  50. Turn-Based + Cats Dead $1.7k 7 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Stray 2022 · $142M Mewgenics 2026 · $45M Nine Sols 2024 · $36M inZOI 2025 · EA · $36M BattleBlock Theater® 2014 · $25M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stray older $29.99 157,579 97% 4.7M $142M (exactly $141,773,826) BlueTwelve Studio
Mewgenics $29.99 49,996 89% 1.5M $45M (exactly $44,981,401) Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel
Nine Sols older $29.99 40,138 94% 1.2M $36M (exactly $36,112,159) RedCandleGames
inZOI · EA $39.99 30,020 77% 901k $36M (exactly $36,014,994) inZOI Studio
BattleBlock Theater® older $14.99 55,793 97% 1.7M $25M (exactly $25,090,112) The Behemoth
Night in the Woods older $19.99 17,760 94% 533k $11M (exactly $10,650,672) Infinite Fall
Little Kitty, Big City older $24.99 10,423 96% 313k $7.8M (exactly $7,814,123) Double Dagger Studio
A Little to the Left older $14.99 16,885 91% 507k $7.6M (exactly $7,593,184) Max Inferno
Strange Horticulture older $15.99 14,867 94% 446k $7.1M (exactly $7,131,700) Bad Viking
NEKOPARA Vol. 1 older $9.99 23,405 95% 702k $7.0M (exactly $7,014,478) NEKO WORKs
My Little Puppy $24.99 4,435 97% 133k $3.3M (exactly $3,324,920) Dreamotion Inc.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales $59.99 1,687 78% 51k $3.0M (exactly $3,036,094) Square Enix, Claytechworks
Cat Mail Co. $14.99 6,289 92% 189k $2.8M (exactly $2,828,163) Maracas Studio
Copycat $14.99 4,611 89% 138k $2.1M (exactly $2,073,567) Spoonful Of Wonder
Strange Antiquities $17.99 3,288 95% 99k $1.8M (exactly $1,774,534) Bad Viking
OneShot: World Machine Edition $9.99 5,349 98% 160k $1.6M (exactly $1,603,095) Future Cat LLC
OFF $14.99 3,093 95% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,390,922) Mortis Ghost, Fangamer
Garden of Witches $18.99 1,978 92% 59k $1.1M (exactly $1,126,867) Team Tapas

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