Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Minigames

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Minigames Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Minigames

Only 18 developers shipped a Minigames Action-Adventure in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Star Wars Outlaws, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.7k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $540. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 19 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 19 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Minigames
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.7k → $6.7k → $538 (still earning) → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Minigames: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $538 (exactly $538)
Median $6.7k (exactly $6,712)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $16,796)
Top 5% $26M (exactly $25,759,120)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 48
Announced 19
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 down 15% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Minigames
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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, Minigames; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 12,981 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $6.7k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $25M.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + BikesFair11 devs · median $2.5k · 11 announced
  3. + TransportationFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  4. + MotorbikeFair9 devs · median $2.3k · 12 announced
  5. + TypingLong shot14 devs · median $360 · 16 announced
  6. + Time AttackLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 17 announced
  7. + Character Action GamePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 116 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds49 devs · median $25k · 133 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Poor odds81 devs · median $24k · 135 announced
  11. + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $17k · 26 announced
  12. + Naval CombatPoor odds24 devs · median $15k · 71 announced

All 242 pairs on the Action-Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

It Takes Two 2021 · $262M Star Wars Outlaws 2024 · $26M Like a Dragon: Ishin! 2023 · $5.9M Shenmue III 2020 · $925k American Theft 80s 2022 · $617k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
It Takes Two older $39.99 218,492 95% 6.6M $262M (exactly $262,124,852) Hazelight Studios
Star Wars Outlaws $69.99 12,268 71% 368k $26M (exactly $25,759,120) Massive Entertainment – A Ubisoft Studio
Like a Dragon: Ishin! older $39.99 4,891 80% 147k $5.9M (exactly $5,867,733) RGG Studio
Shenmue III older $29.99 1,028 75% 31k $925k (exactly $924,892) YS NET
American Theft 80s older $19.99 1,029 73% 31k $617k (exactly $617,091) Noble Muffins
Creature Crafter older $7.99 745 86% 22k $179k (exactly $178,576) Daniel Lochner
Pinchcliffe Grand Prix older $19.99 275 53% 8.3k $165k (exactly $164,918) Ravn Studio, Rock Pocket Games, Invictu… (Ravn Studio, Rock Pocket Games, Invictus Games)
Starlight Revolver · EA $12.99 404 54% 12k $157k (exactly $157,439) Pahdo Labs
My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery older $39.99 126 73% 3.8k $151k (exactly $151,162) Drakhar Studios
Pixel Ripped 1995 older $19.99 169 94% 5.1k $101k (exactly $101,349) ARVORE
Magical Blush $14.99 58 94% 1.7k $26k (exactly $26,083) Alkacer Game Studio
Ritus Exorcismus $5.99 138 99% 4.1k $25k (exactly $24,799) Dernhelm Games
PAW Patrol™: Dino World $39.99 14 64% 420 $17k (exactly $16,796) 3DClouds
Pinchcliffe Grand Prix Anniversary Edition $29.99 14 78% 420 $13k (exactly $12,596) Ravn Studio, Rock Pocket Games, Invictu… (Ravn Studio, Rock Pocket Games, Invictus Games)
Leafing Home $13.99 23 78% 690 $9.7k (exactly $9,653) Hot Fingers Interactive
SickWay VR $12.99 23 78% 690 $9.0k (exactly $8,963) ALIEN studio
Natural Unintelligence: Zueirama 2 · EA $7.99 28 78% 840 $6.7k (exactly $6,712) Memes Games
Solvimus $19.99 11 90% 330 $6.6k (exactly $6,597) Iocus GmbH

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