Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Heist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Heist Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Heist

Of 28 developers who shipped a Heist 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.. 79 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×5.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $2.8M, ×4471 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 79 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 79 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Heist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $16k → $8.4k → $959 → $1.8k → $8.1k (still earning) → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Heist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $3.4k (exactly $3,418)
Top 25% $117k (exactly $116,583)
Top 5% $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 91
Announced 79
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.00

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 25% on the market, supply 150% 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
Heist
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Exploration
Price point
$8.00 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Funny, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.00.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 28,592 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $3.4k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $2.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition older $39.99 71,706 84% 2.2M $86M (exactly $86,025,688) Eidos-Montréal, Crystal Dynamics, Nixxe… (Eidos-Montréal, Crystal Dynamics, Nixxes, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral interactive (Linux))
Star Wars Outlaws $69.99 12,268 71% 368k $26M (exactly $25,759,120) Massive Entertainment – A Ubisoft Studio
LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes 2 older $19.99 7,452 86% 224k $4.5M (exactly $4,468,964) TT Games, Feral Interactive (Mac)
Crime Simulator $14.99 6,244 82% 187k $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927) CookieDev
SteamWorld Heist II older $29.99 2,201 93% 66k $2.0M (exactly $1,980,240) Thunderful Development
Burglin' Gnomes $9.99 4,635 83% 139k $1.4M (exactly $1,389,110) Fobri
The Break-In $19.99 2,040 87% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,223,388) jorgen games Ltd, Oliver Josh
The Greatest Penguin Heist of All Time $14.99 2,361 90% 71k $1.1M (exactly $1,061,742) That Fish, That Other Fish
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank older $14.99 1,890 95% 57k $850k (exactly $849,933) Snoozy Kazoo
American Theft 80s older $19.99 1,029 73% 31k $617k (exactly $617,091) Noble Muffins
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow $19.99 340 75% 10k $204k (exactly $203,898) Maze Theory
Midnight Heist $9.99 389 92% 12k $117k (exactly $116,583) MediaTale
Relooted $14.99 257 87% 7.7k $116k (exactly $115,573) Nyamakop
The Memory Thieves · EA $6.99 40 80% 1.2k $8.4k (exactly $8,388) Otherside Studio
Gauley : Experience Nepal · EA $14.99 18 88% 540 $8.1k (exactly $8,095) Ashim Shakya

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