Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Level Editor

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Level Editor

Of 32 developers who shipped a Level Editor 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.. 81 more are announced, ×5.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×304 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 81 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 81 announced, ×5.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Level Editor
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $164k → $5.4k → $1.2k → $899 → $600 → $8.1k → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Level Editor: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,238)
Top 5% $191k (exactly $191,174)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 117
Announced 81
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 35% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Level Editor
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, Level Editor; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Combat
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $23.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $23.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 3,085 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $450, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $190k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.8 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Portal 2 older $9.99 390,412 98% 12M $117M (exactly $117,006,476) Valve
Everhood older $9.99 11,436 95% 343k $3.4M (exactly $3,427,369) Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca
WHAT THE GOLF? older $19.99 4,324 93% 130k $2.6M (exactly $2,593,103) Triband
Everhood 2 $19.99 2,207 74% 66k $1.3M (exactly $1,323,538) Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca
Shadwen older $16.99 1,049 77% 31k $535k (exactly $534,675) Frozenbyte
I wanna be the Creator older $5.99 2,860 94% 86k $514k (exactly $513,942) Aikesi
WHAT THE CAR? older $19.99 809 84% 24k $485k (exactly $485,157) Triband
Cloudbuilt older $19.99 798 86% 24k $479k (exactly $478,561) Coilworks
Super Dungeon Maker older $19.99 388 82% 12k $233k (exactly $232,684) FIRECHICK
Quest Master · EA older $19.99 354 98% 11k $212k (exactly $212,294) Apogee Entertainment, Julian Creutz, Sk… (Apogee Entertainment, Julian Creutz, Skydevilpalm)
Overthrown $24.99 255 55% 7.7k $191k (exactly $191,174) Brimstone
Valkyrie Saga $7.99 288 92% 8.6k $69k (exactly $69,034) Public Void
Dustwind: Resistance $19.90 47 80% 1.4k $28k (exactly $28,059) Dustwind Studios, Z-Software
Oeuf $9.99 90 94% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,973) increpare games
Let's Cook Together 2 $23.99 37 75% 1.1k $27k (exactly $26,629) Yellow Dot
Portalborn · EA $9.99 72 93% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,578) TheHand
The Shadowed Rune · EA $9.95 41 100% 1.2k $12k (exactly $12,238) Javifugitivo
Starlair $19.99 17 58% 510 $10k (exactly $10,195) Shooty Bazooky
10 seconds dash! $9.99 31 96% 930 $9.3k (exactly $9,291) メシードソフトウェア

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