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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Action game?
Action + Interactive Fiction
Of 189 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction 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.. 356 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×354 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 356 games are announced against 100 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $5.8k (exactly $5,753) |
| Top 5% | $222k (exactly $222,295) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 189 |
| Released games | 634 |
| Announced | 356 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.95 |
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 15% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Action
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Action, Interactive Fiction; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $5.95 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.95.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 11,104 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 130 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 356 games are announced against 100 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action with a different second tag, 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
A Plague Tale: Requiem 2022 · $31M 
The Henry Stickmin Collection 2020 · $25M 
SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M 
Road 96 🛣️ 2021 · $13M 
There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension 2020 · $9.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | A Plague Tale: Requiem | older | $49.99 | 20,797 90% | 624k | $31M (exactly $31,189,261) | Asobo Studio |
| | The Henry Stickmin Collection | older | $14.99 | 55,826 98% | 1.7M | $25M (exactly $25,104,952) | PuffballsUnited |
| | SCARLET NEXUS | older | $59.99 | 13,749 81% | 412k | $25M (exactly $24,744,075) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
| | Road 96 🛣️ | older | $19.96 | 22,118 91% | 664k | $13M (exactly $13,244,258) | Digixart |
| | There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension | older | $12.99 | 24,144 97% | 724k | $9.4M (exactly $9,408,917) | Draw Me A Pixel |
 | Hobo: Tough Life | older | $29.99 | 8,679 84% | 260k | $7.8M (exactly $7,808,496) | Perun Creative |
 | Pyre | older | $19.99 | 8,396 90% | 252k | $5.0M (exactly $5,035,081) | Supergiant Games |
 | Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs | older | $19.99 | 7,236 69% | 217k | $4.3M (exactly $4,339,429) | The Chinese Room |
 | Late Shift | older | $14.99 | 7,762 86% | 233k | $3.5M (exactly $3,490,571) | CtrlMovie |
 | New Tales from the Borderlands | older | $39.99 | 1,737 29% | 52k | $2.1M (exactly $2,083,879) | Gearbox Software |
 | I Am Jesus Christ | $19.99 | 1,486 87% | 45k | $891k (exactly $891,154) | Space Boat Studios | |
 | KYOTO XANADU -the Blooming Phantom- | $54.99 | 403 78% | 12k | $665k (exactly $664,829) | Nihon Falcom | |
 | BLACKWOOD | $24.99 | 565 46% | 17k | $424k (exactly $423,580) | AttritoM7 Productions | |
 | Last Report | $4.99 | 2,423 89% | 73k | $363k (exactly $362,723) | Monopixel Games | |
 | s.p.l.i.t | $2.99 | 3,862 92% | 116k | $346k (exactly $346,421) | Mike Klubnika | |
 | Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter | $59.99 | 171 97% | 5.1k | $308k (exactly $307,749) | Nihon Falcom | |
 | Undercover | $14.99 | 667 77% | 20k | $300k (exactly $299,950) | intiny | |
 | Refate: Echoes of Desire | $14.99 | 558 87% | 17k | $251k (exactly $250,933) | Terraflame Entertainment | |
 | DYSTHANASIA | $24.99 | 334 88% | 10k | $250k (exactly $250,400) | Madowaku Kobo | |
 | Inquisitor’s Heart and Soul | $12.99 | 635 80% | 19k | $247k (exactly $247,460) | Whale Rock Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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