Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Management Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Management

Of 109 developers who shipped a Management 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.. 340 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×1002 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 340 games are announced against 76 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 340 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 109
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $959 → $1.1k → $959 → $3.1k → $4.3k → $1.8k (still earning) → $3.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 109
Bottom 30% $478 (exactly $478)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,248)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,590)
Top 5% $629k (exactly $629,115)
Developers, 2 yr 109
Released games 254
Announced 340
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 95% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Management
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, Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Simulation, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 28,429 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 $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $620k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 340 games are announced against 76 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 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
鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal older $19.99 190,184 56% 5.7M $114M (exactly $114,053,345) 鬼谷工作室
Contraband Police older $29.99 24,882 95% 746k $22M (exactly $22,386,335) Crazy Rocks
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness older $59.99 2,650 79% 80k $4.8M (exactly $4,769,205) Chime Corporation
Ale & Tale Tavern older $14.99 8,692 88% 261k $3.9M (exactly $3,908,792) Scienart Games
Carrier Command 2 older $29.99 3,444 82% 103k $3.1M (exactly $3,098,567) Geometa
Pax Autocratica · EA $29.99 3,202 91% 96k $2.9M (exactly $2,880,839) Multiverse
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault $29.99 3,146 80% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) Digital Sun
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
Weed Shop 3 older $19.99 3,956 93% 119k $2.4M (exactly $2,372,413) Weed Games
Aeruta $19.99 2,391 94% 72k $1.4M (exactly $1,433,883) FromDawn Games
DIVE or DIE - Children of Rain $17.99 1,255 91% 38k $677k (exactly $677,323) Drop Rate Studio
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
Huaxia: Warring States · EA $19.99 701 61% 21k $420k (exactly $420,390) 秦川汉渚
Overthrown $24.99 255 55% 7.7k $191k (exactly $191,174) Brimstone
The Last FARMER $12.99 258 56% 7.7k $101k (exactly $100,543) Geekon
Frozen Ship · EA $19.99 142 76% 4.3k $85k (exactly $85,157) Nionetix

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