Do I ship it?

Games › Settings › Dogs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dog game?

Dogs

Of 327 developers who shipped a Dog 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.. 390 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×404 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 390 games are announced against 185 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 390 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dogs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 327
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $1.6k → $3.9k → $1.5k → $1.4k → $718 → $629 (still earning) → $598 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dogs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 327
Bottom 30% $208 (exactly $208)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $7.5k (exactly $7,485)
Top 5% $192k (exactly $191,915)
Developers, 2 yr 327
Released games 1,009
Announced 390
Effort 3 / 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 15% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Dogs
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
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 83% positive over 25,219 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $900, 1 in 4 over $7.4k, 1 in 20 over $190k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 182 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 390 games are announced against 185 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Dogs

70 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Cooking + Dogs Fair $8.1k 12 devs
  2. Farming Sim + Dogs Fair $4.1k 18 devs
  3. Roguelike + Dogs Fair $1.9k 30 devs
  4. Card Game + Dogs Fair $1.5k 11 devs
  5. Dating Sim + Dogs Fair $1.5k 11 devs
  6. Hidden Object + Dogs Fair $1.5k 35 devs
  7. Roguelite + Dogs Fair $1.3k 30 devs
  8. Action Roguelike + Dogs Fair $899 19 devs
  9. Economy + Dogs Fair $899 11 devs
  10. Sports + Dogs Fair $899 11 devs
  11. Visual Novel + Dogs Fair $897 23 devs
  12. Logic + Dogs Fair $839 28 devs
  13. Board Game + Dogs Fair $776 11 devs
  14. Puzzle + Dogs Fair $719 93 devs
  15. Grid-Based Movement + Dogs Fair $599 14 devs
  16. Tabletop + Dogs Fair $599 9 devs
  17. 2D Platformer + Dogs Fair $538 46 devs
  18. Survival + Dogs Fair $535 20 devs
  19. FPS + Dogs Long shot $594 6 devs
  20. Match 3 + Dogs Long shot $90 12 devs
  21. Building + Dogs Poor odds $24k 20 devs
  22. Crafting + Dogs Poor odds $9.0k 16 devs
  23. Co-op + Dogs Poor odds $9.0k 15 devs
  24. Immersive Sim + Dogs Poor odds $4.7k 22 devs
  25. Walking Simulator + Dogs Poor odds $4.7k 21 devs
  26. Sandbox + Dogs Poor odds $4.5k 19 devs
  27. PvP + Dogs Poor odds $4.4k 14 devs
  28. Life Sim + Dogs Poor odds $4.2k 34 devs
  29. Management + Dogs Poor odds $4.1k 20 devs
  30. Exploration + Dogs Poor odds $3.3k 84 devs
  31. Character Customization + Dogs Poor odds $3.1k 33 devs
  32. Open World + Dogs Poor odds $3.0k 26 devs
  33. Local Co-Op + Dogs Poor odds $2.7k 11 devs
  34. 3D Platformer + Dogs Poor odds $2.1k 23 devs
  35. Adventure + Dogs Poor odds $1.9k 137 devs
  36. Platformer + Dogs Poor odds $1.8k 45 devs
  37. Multiple Endings + Dogs Poor odds $1.5k 22 devs
  38. Simulation + Dogs Poor odds $1.2k 80 devs
  39. Creature Collector + Dogs Poor odds $1.2k 28 devs
  40. Resource Management + Dogs Poor odds $1.1k 17 devs
  41. Action RPG + Dogs Poor odds $1.1k 7 devs
  42. Interactive Fiction + Dogs Poor odds $1.0k 11 devs
  43. Procedural Generation + Dogs Poor odds $959 18 devs
  44. Bullet Hell + Dogs Poor odds $958 13 devs
  45. Choices Matter + Dogs Poor odds $899 26 devs
  46. Collectathon + Dogs Poor odds $899 22 devs
  47. Action + Dogs Poor odds $807 106 devs
  48. Combat + Dogs Poor odds $807 26 devs
  49. Point & Click + Dogs Poor odds $718 55 devs
  50. Idler + Dogs Poor odds $718 30 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Watch_Dogs™ 2014 · $30M Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 (2011) 2011 · $19M Call of Duty®: Ghosts 2014 · $16M Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name 2023 · $14M Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare - Gold Edition 2014 · $13M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Watch_Dogs™ older $19.99 49,193 79% 1.5M $30M (exactly $29,501,042) Ubisoft
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 (2011) older $39.99 15,588 90% 468k $19M (exactly $18,700,924) Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games
Call of Duty®: Ghosts older $39.99 12,976 66% 389k $16M (exactly $15,567,307) Infinity Ward
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name older $49.99 9,118 95% 274k $14M (exactly $13,674,265) RGG Studio
Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare - Gold Edition older $39.99 11,103 64% 333k $13M (exactly $13,320,269) Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software
Valiant Hearts: The Great War™ / Soldats Inconnus : Mémoires de la Grande Guerre™ older $14.99 24,468 95% 734k $11M (exactly $11,003,260) Ubisoft Montpellier
Wobbledogs older $19.99 13,770 98% 413k $8.3M (exactly $8,257,869) Animal Uprising
Beast of Reincarnation $59.99 4,188 56% 126k $7.5M (exactly $7,537,144) GAME FREAK inc.
Necromunda: Hired Gun older $39.99 5,892 68% 177k $7.1M (exactly $7,068,632) Streum On Studio
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl older $49.99 4,311 75% 129k $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) Ludosity, Fair Play Labs
My Little Puppy $24.99 4,435 97% 133k $3.3M (exactly $3,324,920) Dreamotion Inc.
Enigma of Fear $29.99 3,045 95% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) Dumativa, Cellbit
Copycat $14.99 4,611 89% 138k $2.1M (exactly $2,073,567) Spoonful Of Wonder
Slitterhead $49.99 1,145 78% 34k $1.7M (exactly $1,717,156) Bokeh Game Studio lnc.
Way of the Hunter 2 · EA $34.99 1,534 73% 46k $1.6M (exactly $1,610,240) Nine Rocks Games
Animal Shelter 2 $24.99 1,204 79% 36k $903k (exactly $902,639) Games Incubator
Pratfall $7.99 2,797 90% 84k $670k (exactly $670,441) Quad Head
Restore Your Island $12.99 1,631 77% 49k $636k (exactly $635,601) Paiband Game Studio
Anthro Heat $29.99 629 92% 19k $566k (exactly $565,911) Blue Lizard Studios

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