Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Economy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Economy Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Economy

Of 33 developers who shipped an Economy 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.. 109 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×5.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×674 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 109 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 109 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Economy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $18k → $1.1k → $5.7k → $11k → $7.3k → $179 (still earning) → $1.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Economy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $3.5k (exactly $3,510)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,490)
Top 5% $424k (exactly $423,580)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 73
Announced 109
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 85% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Economy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Action, Management
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 67% positive over 8,630 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $3.5k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 109 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 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

Longvinter 2025 · $4.2M Ale & Tale Tavern 2024 · $3.9M Weed Shop 3 2022 · $2.4M Saleblazers 2023 · EA · $1.8M The Brew Barons 2024 · $546k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Longvinter $19.99 6,951 68% 209k $4.2M (exactly $4,168,515) Uuvana Studios
Ale & Tale Tavern older $14.99 8,692 88% 261k $3.9M (exactly $3,908,792) Scienart Games
Weed Shop 3 older $19.99 3,956 93% 119k $2.4M (exactly $2,372,413) Weed Games
Saleblazers · EA older $29.99 1,974 78% 59k $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE
The Brew Barons older $21.99 828 75% 25k $546k (exactly $546,232) Lifetap Studios
BLACKWOOD $24.99 565 46% 17k $424k (exactly $423,580) AttritoM7 Productions
Loot Tycoon · EA $6.99 544 71% 16k $114k (exactly $114,077) Parallel Portal
Magisterium: Fantasy Craft · EA older $14.99 232 69% 7.0k $104k (exactly $104,330) The Spiteful Games
Dwarrows older $29.99 97 69% 2.9k $87k (exactly $87,271) Lithic Entertainment Inc.
Frozen Ship · EA $19.99 142 76% 4.3k $85k (exactly $85,157) Nionetix
My Little Cafe Nightmare $8.99 210 90% 6.3k $57k (exactly $56,637) SethMadDev
Zombie Diner Simulator 🥩 💀 $14.99 67 71% 2.0k $30k (exactly $30,130) Octo Games studio
Gun Center Simulator $9.99 54 33% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) Digital Melody
Record Shop Simulator $8.99 40 70% 1.2k $11k (exactly $10,788) Octane Owl
Shopkeeper: My First Supermarket $9.99 35 51% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Supa Games
Heat 'n Hit: The Blacksmith Simulator · EA $10.99 22 45% 660 $7.3k (exactly $7,253) Barkino

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