Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Animals

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Animal Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Animals

Of 24 developers who shipped an Animal Action-Adventure 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.. 99 more are announced, ×5.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×383 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 99 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 99 announced, ×5.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Animals
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.8k → $840 → $76k → $450 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Animals: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,775)
Top 5% $240k (exactly $240,480)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 47
Announced 99
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.00

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 100% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Animals
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Action-Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, 3D Platformer
Price point
$6.00 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Cinematic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.00.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 2,349 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $450, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 5 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 99 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action-Adventure with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair18 devs · median $6.7k · 19 announced
  3. + BikesFair11 devs · median $2.5k · 11 announced
  4. + TransportationFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  5. + MotorbikeFair9 devs · median $2.3k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingLong shot14 devs · median $360 · 16 announced
  7. + Time AttackLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 17 announced
  8. + Character Action GamePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  9. + MMORPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 116 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds49 devs · median $25k · 133 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds81 devs · median $24k · 135 announced
  12. + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $17k · 26 announced

All 242 pairs on the Action-Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Owlboy older $19.99 3,679 85% 110k $2.2M (exactly $2,206,296) D-Pad Studio
Islets older $19.99 1,831 95% 55k $1.1M (exactly $1,098,051) Kyle Thompson
Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch older $29.99 874 62% 26k $786k (exactly $786,338) Aesir Interactive
Herdling $24.99 871 93% 26k $653k (exactly $652,989) Okomotive
BROK the InvestiGator older $19.99 985 97% 30k $591k (exactly $590,704) COWCAT
MARSUPILAMI - HOOBADVENTURE older $19.99 430 94% 13k $258k (exactly $257,871) Ocellus Studio
Zefyr: A Thief's Melody $19.99 401 96% 12k $240k (exactly $240,480) Oneiric Worlds
Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2 (2003 re-release) older $1.99 2,603 94% 78k $155k (exactly $155,399) Tate Multimedia
Dark Pals: The 1st Floor $6.70 700 87% 21k $141k (exactly $140,700) Skunx Games
The WILDS · EA older $4.99 584 75% 18k $87k (exactly $87,425) Gluten Free Games
Huntsman $12.99 195 58% 5.9k $76k (exactly $75,992) OnTheHouse Studios
Only Way is Down $9.99 137 63% 4.1k $41k (exactly $41,059) Jilted Generation Productions
Pebble For A Queen $6.99 18 94% 540 $3.8k (exactly $3,775) Mangus
Hamstory $4.99 16 100% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Dotori Doguldan
Diggy Diggy Mole $9.73 4 100% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,168) Novasplore Games
RAT MEMORY $7.00 4 75% 120 $840 (exactly $840) Quero Games
BARKO $6.00 3 100% 90 $540 (exactly $540) Federico Giarratano

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