Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Idler

Of 49 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 84 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×171 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 84 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 84 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 49
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $955 → $446 → $1.5k → $3.1k → $2.6k → $419 → $3.2k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 49
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $9.3k (exactly $9,348)
Top 5% $108k (exactly $107,557)
Developers, 2 yr 49
Released games 161
Announced 84
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 up 10% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

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, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Incremental
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 3,528 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $900, 1 in 4 over $9.3k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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

Yogurt! 2020 · $381k Stuck In Time 2021 · $244k Another Try 2 2025 · EA · $210k XiuzhenWorld 2024 · $170k RUSSIAPHOBIA 2020 · $166k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Yogurt! older $4.99 2,542 75% 76k $381k (exactly $380,537) 430Games, __Ja__ga__imo__
Stuck In Time older $7.99 1,018 84% 31k $244k (exactly $244,015) Housemade Inc.
Another Try 2 · EA $6.99 1,000 53% 30k $210k (exactly $209,700) Hoki Wolf Studio
XiuzhenWorld older $12.99 436 75% 13k $170k (exactly $169,909) Noforgetit
RUSSIAPHOBIA older $0.99 5,589 69% 168k $166k (exactly $165,993) European Flameworms
Loot Tycoon · EA $6.99 544 71% 16k $114k (exactly $114,077) Parallel Portal
Cultivation Magic World · EA $12.99 276 78% 8.3k $108k (exactly $107,557) DMG Studio
Chicken Assassin: Reloaded older $4.99 715 94% 21k $107k (exactly $107,036) OneShark
Joyville older $9.99 331 69% 9.9k $99k (exactly $99,201) KudPlay Games
Drakkar Crew older $14.99 155 80% 4.7k $70k (exactly $69,704) SiBear Games
Eldara $7.50 243 83% 7.3k $55k (exactly $54,675) Eldara Games
XiuzhenWorld2 $12.99 134 67% 4.0k $52k (exactly $52,220) Noforgetit
Nanomon Virtual Pet $14.99 113 88% 3.4k $51k (exactly $50,816) Oscar Brittain
Goth Obsession: Touch Adventure $2.99 560 81% 17k $50k (exactly $50,232) Mora the Goth Girl
5 NIGHTS AT SHALUN 4: SCHOOL $1.99 535 93% 16k $32k (exactly $31,940) Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV
Pet Lands $14.99 47 46% 1.4k $21k (exactly $21,136) Tbjbu2, Adria Martinez Exposito
Madness inside $6.99 76 73% 2.3k $16k (exactly $15,937) ZV GAMES

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