Do I ship it?

GamesActionAction + Sokoban

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sokoban Action game?

Action + Sokoban

Of 28 developers who shipped a Sokoban 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.. 40 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $510, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $4.5k, ×7.3 the market median. Revenue is up 150% on the market; 40 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 150% on the market, 40 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Sokoban
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $1.6k → $1.4k → $449 → $0 → $718 → $839 (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Sokoban: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $505 (exactly $505)
Top 25% $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 5% $4.6k (exactly $4,554)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 99
Announced 40
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 150% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Sokoban
effort 2 / 10 · high · grid pushing rules and level files

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Sokoban; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, 2D Platformer, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 152 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $510, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $4.5k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ittle Dew older $19.99 481 92% 14k $288k (exactly $288,456) Ludosity
Backrooms Cats and Lava older $29.99 105 79% 3.2k $94k (exactly $94,468) Galactic Geckon
Larcin Lazer older $9.99 241 99% 7.2k $72k (exactly $72,228) Tambouille, Géraud Zucchini
Temple Of Snek older $14.99 102 90% 3.1k $46k (exactly $45,869) Aetheric Games
Chuck's Challenge 3D 2020 older $9.99 147 81% 4.4k $44k (exactly $44,056) Niffler Ltd.
Mess Adventures older $2.99 454 81% 14k $41k (exactly $40,724) Marvelous Games
Waifu Secret older $1.99 677 72% 20k $40k (exactly $40,417) Romantic Room
Button Button Up! older $11.99 93 96% 2.8k $33k (exactly $33,452) Centrosphere Games
Soulless: Ray Of Hope older $4.99 208 71% 6.2k $31k (exactly $31,138) ·
Invercity older $14.99 39 94% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,538) Marudice
CorgiSpace $4.99 62 96% 1.9k $9.3k (exactly $9,281) Adam Saltsman
Bacterian · EA $7.99 19 100% 570 $4.6k (exactly $4,554) Error 300
Crash Puzzle Hammer-San $9.99 13 100% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) SUCCESS Corp.
Super Miners · EA $9.99 13 92% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) METAGAR
One more gem $15.99 7 100% 210 $3.4k (exactly $3,358) Cosmin Munteanu
Watermelon (with a Broken Head) Game $2.99 21 80% 630 $1.9k (exactly $1,884) SillyOven
Mr.Robbo $9.99 5 40% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) It8bit Club
G-MODEアーカイブス+ フラッシュモーター・カレン $12.99 3 100% 90 $1.2k (exactly $1,169) G-MODE, HOPEMOON
Pop Optics $6.99 4 100% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Nanotron Studio
Super Blockbuster $4.99 5 100% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Pikselit Games

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