Cel-shading / toon
A tough niche: many competitors for the demand that exists. Average across 4 platforms: niche 17/100, demand 24/100, competition 51/100, development cost 41/100. On Steam: 132 games and 1,486 players online; 9% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $8.47.
Niche
17/100
Demand (0–100)
24/100
Competition
51/100
Dev cost
41/100
Spend per player
$8.47
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
9%
Key findings
- Ranked #24 of 24 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on Steam (48/100) and weakest on App Store (0/100).
- Competition is below typical: 51/100 vs a median of 60/100 — a new game has an easier time getting noticed.
- Development is costlier than typical: index 41/100 vs a median of 36/100 — plan for more time and money.
- On Steam, only 9% of games reached 500+ reviews — less often than usual (median 12%).
- Small-studio games make up 48% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 40/100 | 132 | 9/100 | 48/100 | 43/100 |
| itch.io | 0/100 | 28 | 0/100 | 0/100 | 44/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 56/100 | 96% | 93/100 | 20/100 | 40/100 |
| App Store | 0/100 | 100% | 100/100 | 0/100 | 36/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
The First Berserker: KhazanNeople · $59.99
Tales of SymphoniaBANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. · $19.99
Azur Lane CrosswaveIDEA FACTORY, COMPILE HEART, FELISTELLA · $39.99
Indie
Mirror 2: Project XKAGAMI Ⅱ WORKs · $1.99
XIIIPlayMagic · $19.99
Vector ThrustTimeSymmetry · $24.99
Other art styles
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology