Should I ship a Romance 6DOF game?
6DOF + Romance
Only 13 developers shipped a Romance 6DOF game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, VR-Kanojo, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 8 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×462 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 8 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $898 (exactly $898) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,599) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) |
| Top 5% | $290k (exactly $290,347) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 46 |
| Announced | 8 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $19.99 |
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 40% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 6DOF; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Dating Sim, Simulation, Interactive Fiction
- Price point
- $19.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, VR, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $19.99.
The top 10 games average 64% positive over 361 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 8 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
6DOF with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelikeFair
- + TacticalFair
- + RobotsFair
- + WarFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RhythmPoor odds
- + CyberpunkPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + Post-apocalypticPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Immersive SimPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | VR HOT | · EA older | $44.99 | 998 66% | 30k | $1.3M (exactly $1,347,001) | VR HOT |
| | VR Paradise - Steam Edition | older | $19.99 | 952 86% | 29k | $571k (exactly $570,914) | Totem Entertainment |
| | Spice&Wolf VR2 | older | $24.99 | 663 96% | 20k | $497k (exactly $497,051) | SpicyTails |
| | VR-Kanojo | $54.99 | 176 63% | 5.3k | $290k (exactly $290,347) | ILLUMINATION | |
| | Mirage | · EA older | $29.99 | 279 63% | 8.4k | $251k (exactly $251,016) | MorganaVR |
| | Sea Dogs | older | $11.99 | 162 75% | 4.9k | $58k (exactly $58,271) | Akella |
| | The Secret of Retropolis | older | $9.99 | 162 92% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $48,551) | Peanut Button |
| | Elvenfoundry | $34.99 | 46 67% | 1.4k | $48k (exactly $48,286) | SunbathGames | |
| | JOI Lab VR 🔞 / 自慰ラボ | $14.99 | 43 60% | 1.3k | $19k (exactly $19,337) | Caulino | |
| | Fetish Club | older | $24.99 | 23 60% | 690 | $17k (exactly $17,243) | SinVR |
| | Hentai Dolls | $19.99 | 20 80% | 600 | $12k (exactly $11,994) | SinVR | |
| | Cyber Freeuse Fantasy | $19.99 | 16 68% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) | SinVR | |
| | Wall Town Wonders | $19.99 | 14 78% | 420 | $8.4k (exactly $8,396) | Cyborn B.V. | |
| | Fantasex Chronicles | $19.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $6.6k (exactly $6,597) | SinVR | |
| | Virgin Simulator | $4.99 | 30 36% | 900 | $4.5k (exactly $4,491) | Ilmir Nasertdinov | |
| | AI Games | $59.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $3.6k (exactly $3,599) | SUNYU Games | |
| | DiveInLoveVR | $34.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $3.1k (exactly $3,149) | LMTD |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.