Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Capitalism

Of 36 developers who shipped a Capitalist 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.. 93 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×4.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2145 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 93 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 93 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $41k → $5.1k → $479 → $6.2k → $2.4k → $2.9k (still earning) → $5.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $2.6k (exactly $2,637)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $18,887)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,346,803)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 101
Announced 93
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 30% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Capitalism
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 8,518 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.6k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 93 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 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

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault 2026 · $2.8M New Tales from the Borderlands 2022 · $2.1M Saleblazers 2023 · EA · $1.8M Get To Work 2024 · $1.3M NUTS 2021 · $663k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault $29.99 3,146 80% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) Digital Sun
New Tales from the Borderlands older $39.99 1,737 29% 52k $2.1M (exactly $2,083,879) Gearbox Software
Saleblazers · EA older $29.99 1,974 78% 59k $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE
Get To Work $12.99 3,456 88% 104k $1.3M (exactly $1,346,803) Isto Inc.
NUTS older $24.99 884 88% 27k $663k (exactly $662,735) Joon, Pol, Muutsch, Char & Torfi
Brigador Killers · EA $24.99 572 69% 17k $429k (exactly $428,828) Stellar Jockeys, Gausswerks
BLACKWOOD $24.99 565 46% 17k $424k (exactly $423,580) AttritoM7 Productions
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency older $14.99 460 81% 14k $207k (exactly $206,862) Neat Corporation, Fast Travel Games
Skull Island: Rise of Kong older $39.99 153 35% 4.6k $184k (exactly $183,554) IguanaBee
SeaCret 1 · EA $39.99 99 61% 3.0k $119k (exactly $118,770) Dalas
Unsafe Express $11.99 222 59% 6.7k $80k (exactly $79,853) OnSkull Games
My Little Cafe Nightmare $8.99 210 90% 6.3k $57k (exactly $56,637) SethMadDev
Alruna and the Necro-Industrialists $9.99 113 84% 3.4k $34k (exactly $33,866) Neckbolt
Antro $14.99 42 92% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Gatera Studio
Service with a Shotgun $6.70 93 94% 2.8k $19k (exactly $18,693) Nolyn Vansyckle

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