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.
| 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.
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
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
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.
What kills games here
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.
All pairs with Cats
- Beat 'em up + Cats Dead $1.2k
- Sports + Cats Dead $599
- PvE + Cats Dead $449
- Puzzle Platformer + Cats Dead $359
- Score Attack + Cats Dead $358
- Tabletop + Cats Dead $299
- Runner + Cats Dead $238
- 2D Fighter + Cats Dead $60
Comparable games
| 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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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