Do I ship it?

GamesMoodsWholesome

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Wholesome game?

Wholesome

Of 487 developers who shipped a Wholesome 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.. 862 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.9k, ×33 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×3382 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 862 games are announced against 314 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 32.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 862 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Wholesome
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 487
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $25k → $9.3k → $12k → $6.2k → $7.3k → $7.5k → $5.9k (still earning) → $358 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Wholesome: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 487
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $3.9k (exactly $3,891)
Top 25% $31k (exactly $31,468)
Top 5% $402k (exactly $402,399)
Developers, 2 yr 487
Released games 1,284
Announced 862
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 35% on the market, supply 55% 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.

Wholesome
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
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 43,141 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $3.9k, 1 in 4 over $31k, 1 in 20 over $400k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 320 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 862 games are announced against 314 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Wholesome

0 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any

No pair with Wholesome has 25 games yet.

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PowerWash Simulator older $24.99 50,924 96% 1.5M $38M (exactly $38,177,723) FuturLab
Wobbledogs older $19.99 13,770 98% 413k $8.3M (exactly $8,257,869) Animal Uprising
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
Wingspan older $19.99 9,807 94% 294k $5.9M (exactly $5,881,258) Monster Couch
TOEM: A Photo Adventure older $19.99 9,688 99% 291k $5.8M (exactly $5,809,894) Something We Made
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions older $11.99 15,211 97% 456k $5.5M (exactly $5,471,397) Mooncube Games
Potionomics older $24.99 6,973 90% 209k $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) Voracious Games
Lost in Play older $19.99 8,248 98% 247k $4.9M (exactly $4,946,326) Happy Juice Games
STORY OF SEASONS: Grand Bazaar $49.99 3,140 93% 94k $4.7M (exactly $4,709,058) Marvelous Inc.
Chill with You : Lo-Fi Story $11.99 12,215 98% 366k $4.4M (exactly $4,393,736) Nestopi Inc.
Is This Seat Taken? $9.99 9,127 97% 274k $2.7M (exactly $2,735,362) Poti Poti Studio
Hozy $14.99 4,128 80% 124k $1.9M (exactly $1,856,362) Come On Studio
Lost and Found Co. $17.99 2,736 96% 82k $1.5M (exactly $1,476,619) Bit Egg Inc.
Discounty $19.99 2,322 82% 70k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,503) Crinkle Cut Games
Teddy's Haven · EA $14.99 2,800 95% 84k $1.3M (exactly $1,259,160) Teddy Bear Games LLC
DrainSim · EA $14.99 2,586 91% 78k $1.2M (exactly $1,162,924) CodePeas
The Artisan of Glimmith $12.99 2,513 97% 75k $979k (exactly $979,316) Lunarch Studios
Trash Goblin $19.99 1,574 87% 47k $944k (exactly $943,928) Spilt Milk Studios Ltd

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