Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Hacking

Of 29 developers who shipped a Hacking 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.. 64 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $2.8M, ×4471 the market median. Revenue is up 240% on the market; 64 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 240% on the market, 64 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $15k → $629 → $599 → $17k → $1.1k → $3.9k → $3.4k (still earning) → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,834)
Top 5% $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 75
Announced 64
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 up 240% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Hacking
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 Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $21.64 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $21.64 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 42,269 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $2.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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

PRAGMATA 2026 · $59M Watch Dogs®: Legion 2023 · $21M Crime Simulator 2025 · $2.8M Observer: System Redux 2020 · $2.2M Agent 64: Spies Never Die 2026 · $560k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PRAGMATA $59.99 32,885 96% 987k $59M (exactly $59,183,134) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Watch Dogs®: Legion older $59.99 11,891 56% 357k $21M (exactly $21,400,233) Ubisoft Toronto
Crime Simulator $14.99 6,244 82% 187k $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927) CookieDev
Observer: System Redux older $29.99 2,462 84% 74k $2.2M (exactly $2,215,061) Bloober Team, Anshar Studios
Agent 64: Spies Never Die $21.64 863 86% 26k $560k (exactly $560,260) Replicant D6
USAC: Code Breach older $14.99 1,067 91% 32k $480k (exactly $479,830) Questions Factory
LIBERATED older $19.99 679 77% 20k $407k (exactly $407,196) Atomic Wolf, L.INC
Deathground · EA $14.99 877 61% 26k $394k (exactly $394,387) Jaw Drop Games
Cybernetic Fault $14.99 679 78% 20k $305k (exactly $305,346) Whale Rock Games
STRIDE: Fates older $29.99 149 51% 4.5k $134k (exactly $134,055) Joy Way
Midnight Heist $9.99 389 92% 12k $117k (exactly $116,583) MediaTale
Unsafe Express $11.99 222 59% 6.7k $80k (exactly $79,853) OnSkull Games
Within the Cosmos $14.99 53 43% 1.6k $24k (exactly $23,834) debdev
Fixer Undercover $17.99 34 91% 1.0k $18k (exactly $18,350) Creativity AR
Codename: Terranova $23.99 23 69% 690 $17k (exactly $16,553) ACGames

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