Games › Action › Action + Horses
Should I ship a Horse Action game?
Action + Horses
Of 33 developers who shipped a Horse Action 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.. 56 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $30M, ×48463 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 56 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) |
| Top 25% | $5.9k (exactly $5,940) |
| Top 5% | $30M (exactly $30,434,912) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 97 |
| Announced | 56 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, 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
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Action; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action-Adventure, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Colorful, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 136,679 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + PinballFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BaseballFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + IdlerFair
- + TennisFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + TabletopFair
- + WuxiaPoor odds
Comparable games
Red Dead Redemption 2 2019 · $1.5B 
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord 2022 · $346M 
Crimson Desert Enhanced 2026 · $242M 
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2018 · $129M 
Mount & Blade: Warband 2010 · $81M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Red Dead Redemption 2 | older | $59.99 | 846,270 92% | 25M | $1.5B (exactly $1,523,032,119) | Rockstar Games |
| | Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord | older | $49.99 | 230,490 87% | 6.9M | $346M (exactly $345,665,853) | TaleWorlds Entertainment |
| | Crimson Desert Enhanced | $69.99 | 115,056 83% | 3.5M | $242M (exactly $241,583,083) | Pearl Abyss | |
| | Kingdom Come: Deliverance | older | $29.99 | 143,303 83% | 4.3M | $129M (exactly $128,929,709) | Warhorse Studios |
| | Mount & Blade: Warband | older | $19.99 | 135,425 97% | 4.1M | $81M (exactly $81,214,372) | TaleWorlds Entertainment |
 | METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN | older | $19.99 | 73,137 91% | 2.2M | $44M (exactly $43,860,259) | KONAMI |
 | Red Dead Online | older | $19.99 | 59,572 82% | 1.8M | $36M (exactly $35,725,328) | Rockstar Games |
 | Red Dead Redemption | $49.99 | 20,294 92% | 609k | $30M (exactly $30,434,912) | Rockstar Games, Double Eleven | |
 | Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword | older | $9.99 | 11,213 87% | 336k | $3.4M (exactly $3,360,536) | TaleWorlds Entertainment |
 | HROT | older | $19.99 | 5,299 96% | 159k | $3.2M (exactly $3,177,810) | Spytihněv |
 | Viking Frontiers | $19.99 | 537 51% | 16k | $322k (exactly $322,039) | BLUM Entertainment | |
 | Ertugrul of Ulukayin | · EA | $19.99 | 447 84% | 13k | $268k (exactly $268,066) | Tekden Studio |
 | Golden Chambers | · EA | $19.99 | 195 80% | 5.9k | $117k (exactly $116,941) | Mr. Pink |
 | Barbie™ Horse Trails | $39.99 | 27 66% | 810 | $32k (exactly $32,392) | PHL Collective | |
 | Hobby Horse | $14.99 | 29 89% | 870 | $13k (exactly $13,041) | Games Incubator | |
 | Horse Runner DX | $4.99 | 58 91% | 1.7k | $8.7k (exactly $8,683) | Mat Makes Games | |
 | Trans Theft Horso | $11.00 | 18 100% | 540 | $5.9k (exactly $5,940) | Cow Children Games | |
 | Storm Horse Simulator | $9.99 | 18 50% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | INDIE FORGE STUDIOS S.R.L. |
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.