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. Sandbox + Cats Fair $4.8k 63 devs
  2. Building + Cats Fair $4.5k 52 devs
  3. Loot + Cats Fair $3.4k 17 devs
  4. Time Attack + Cats Fair $2.7k 5 devs
  5. Bullet Hell + Cats Fair $1.7k 44 devs
  6. Hidden Object + Cats Fair $1.5k 128 devs
  7. Minigames + Cats Fair $1.4k 12 devs
  8. Dating Sim + Cats Fair $1.3k 26 devs
  9. 4 Player Local + Cats Fair $1.3k 17 devs
  10. Point & Click + Cats Fair $1.2k 187 devs
  11. Puzzle + Cats Fair $1.2k 281 devs
  12. Auto Battler + Cats Fair $1.2k 16 devs
  13. Survival + Cats Fair $1.2k 33 devs
  14. Logic + Cats Fair $1.1k 77 devs
  15. Idler + Cats Fair $1.1k 128 devs
  16. Incremental + Cats Fair $836 156 devs
  17. Sokoban + Cats Fair $776 15 devs
  18. Flight + Cats Fair $629 6 devs
  19. Typing + Cats Fair $628 24 devs
  20. Physics + Cats Fair $599 76 devs
  21. Agriculture + Cats Fair $449 18 devs
  22. 3D Platformer + Cats Long shot $420 66 devs
  23. Desktop Companion + Cats Poor odds $21k 20 devs
  24. Metroidvania + Cats Poor odds $11k 12 devs
  25. Online Co-Op + Cats Poor odds $8.4k 25 devs
  26. Base Building + Cats Poor odds $8.4k 15 devs
  27. Souls-like + Cats Poor odds $6.9k 10 devs
  28. Local Co-Op + Cats Poor odds $5.4k 22 devs
  29. Co-op + Cats Poor odds $5.4k 47 devs
  30. Investigation + Cats Poor odds $5.4k 31 devs
  31. Crafting + Cats Poor odds $4.8k 40 devs
  32. Farming Sim + Cats Poor odds $4.2k 32 devs
  33. Turn-Based Strategy + Cats Poor odds $4.0k 28 devs
  34. Card Battler + Cats Poor odds $4.0k 22 devs
  35. Automation + Cats Poor odds $3.7k 32 devs
  36. Fishing + Cats Poor odds $3.7k 22 devs
  37. Deckbuilding + Cats Poor odds $3.6k 31 devs
  38. Dungeon Crawler + Cats Poor odds $3.6k 19 devs
  39. Shoot 'Em Up + Cats Poor odds $3.6k 18 devs
  40. Action RPG + Cats Poor odds $3.3k 28 devs
  41. Parkour + Cats Poor odds $3.1k 15 devs
  42. Tower Defense + Cats Poor odds $2.9k 16 devs
  43. Management + Cats Poor odds $2.7k 68 devs
  44. Economy + Cats Poor odds $2.5k 36 devs
  45. Open World + Cats Poor odds $2.4k 34 devs
  46. Local Multiplayer + Cats Poor odds $2.4k 24 devs
  47. Stealth + Cats Poor odds $2.2k 21 devs
  48. Procedural Generation + Cats Poor odds $2.1k 36 devs
  49. Resource Management + Cats Poor odds $2.1k 51 devs
  50. Exploration + Cats Poor odds $2.0k 192 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.