Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Boss Rush

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Boss Rush Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Boss Rush

Of 20 developers who shipped a Boss Rush 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.. 42 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.7k, ×6.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $1.4M, ×2311 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 42 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 42 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Boss Rush
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $5.0k → $1.2k → $0 (still earning) → $3.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Boss Rush: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $3.7k (exactly $3,742)
Top 25% $6.7k (exactly $6,742)
Top 5% $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 46
Announced 42
Effort 6 / 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 50% on the market, supply 85% 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-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Boss Rush
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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, Boss Rush; all of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Souls-like
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult, Hand-drawn
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 2,943 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $3.7k, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $1.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action-Adventure with a different second tag, 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

Titan Souls 2015 · $3.6M Dinoblade 2026 · $1.5M Jotun: Valhalla Edition 2015 · $996k Perennial Order 2024 · $412k ITTA 2020 · $174k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Titan Souls older $14.99 8,002 82% 240k $3.6M (exactly $3,598,499) Acid Nerve
Dinoblade $19.99 2,420 90% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274) Team Spino LLC
Jotun: Valhalla Edition older $14.99 2,215 77% 66k $996k (exactly $996,086) Thunder Lotus
Perennial Order older $19.99 687 93% 21k $412k (exactly $411,994) Gardenfiend Games
ITTA older $14.99 386 89% 12k $174k (exactly $173,584) Glass Revolver
The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human older $9.99 459 73% 14k $138k (exactly $137,562) YCJY Games
Gurei $15.99 281 83% 8.4k $135k (exactly $134,796) Lobo Sagaz studio
BOSSGAME: The Final Boss Is My Heart older $9.99 83 98% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,875) Lilycore Games
Election Year Knockout older $9.99 79 88% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) ExceptioNULL Games
Towertale older $9.99 50 90% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) MiSou Games
ABYSSAL BLADE $4.99 92 96% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,772) Vifer Games
Dustless $5.99 39 71% 1.2k $7.0k (exactly $7,008) 神刀之死
Scarlet City of Devils $8.99 25 88% 750 $6.7k (exactly $6,742) Shademare
Basureroes: Invasion $11.99 14 100% 420 $5.0k (exactly $5,036) Javs Game Studios
Knockout 2: Wrath of the Karen · EA $19.99 7 85% 210 $4.2k (exactly $4,198) ExceptioNULL Games
Botanica $9.99 14 92% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Second Fiddle Studio
Spirited Line $4.99 26 92% 780 $3.9k (exactly $3,892) Eazy Wizard
Echoes of Forgotten Dreams $4.99 25 100% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Nomary, Sesame

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