Do I ship it?

Games › Action › Action + Spelling

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Spelling Action game?

Action + Spelling

Of 22 developers who shipped a Spelling 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.. 22 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 15 developers shipped in the last year and 22 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 22 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Spelling
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $2.7k → $4.3k → $2.2k → $180 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Spelling: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $4.2k (exactly $4,196)
Top 5% $10k (exactly $10,190)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 65
Announced 22
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 down 85% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Spelling
effort 1 / 10 · high · effort 1 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Spelling; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Typing, Puzzle, Word Game
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 1980s, 1990's, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 364 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $240, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $10k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2020 · $364k スペルトナエル 2024 · $93k MORSE 2025 · $52k Words for Evil 2014 · $32k Spellspire 2017 · $18k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire older $29.99 405 52% 12k $364k (exactly $364,378) Appeal Studios, Balio Studio
スペルトナエル older $8.99 344 97% 10k $93k (exactly $92,777) おまど
MORSE $13.99 124 93% 3.7k $52k (exactly $52,043) ALJO Games
Words for Evil older $2.99 357 79% 11k $32k (exactly $32,023) Chromosphere Games
Spellspire older $9.99 60 81% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,982) 10tons Ltd
God of Word older $4.99 117 76% 3.5k $18k (exactly $17,515) Mega Dwarf
Writer's Block $9.99 34 94% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) SinksAdventure
Neon Ships: The Type'em Up Shooter older $4.99 43 86% 1.3k $6.4k (exactly $6,437) Sensen Games
Idiom Royale $1.99 91 63% 2.7k $5.4k (exactly $5,433) NyxWorks
Necrotyper $14.99 12 91% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Vildiur
DISORDER - Save Your Family $3.99 36 86% 1.1k $4.3k (exactly $4,309) StonieDude
Typomagical $9.99 14 100% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Sigcom
Spell Wizard $2.99 25 84% 750 $2.2k (exactly $2,242) Wushed
POLYGLOCK $4.85 15 100% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,182) Struth Gaming
TYPER3000 $11.99 2 100% 60 $719 (exactly $719) ALBATROS
Yomifuda: Kanji Survivors $1.99 11 90% 330 $657 (exactly $657) Bandalore Software

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