Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Mystery Dungeon

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Dungeon Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Mystery Dungeon

Of 149 developers who shipped a Mystery Dungeon 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.. 206 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60. 206 games are announced against 72 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper, while revenue is up 30% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 206 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Mystery Dungeon
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 149
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $2.0k → $898 → $750 → $267 → $300 → $386 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Mystery Dungeon: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 149
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $356 (exactly $356)
Top 25% $2.4k (exactly $2,397)
Top 5% $94k (exactly $93,987)
Developers, 2 yr 149
Released games 414
Announced 206
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 30% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Mystery Dungeon
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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, Mystery Dungeon; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 8,653 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $93k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 91 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 206 games are announced against 72 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy 2026 · $5.3M Hammerwatch II 2023 · $1.4M In Verbis Virtus 2015 · $878k Stonemachia 2026 · $746k Hellboy Web of Wyrd 2023 · $511k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy $49.99 3,558 92% 107k $5.3M (exactly $5,335,933) Asobo Studio
Hammerwatch II older $24.99 1,871 60% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,402,689) Crackshell
In Verbis Virtus older $19.99 1,464 78% 44k $878k (exactly $877,961) Indomitus Games
Stonemachia $19.99 1,244 95% 37k $746k (exactly $746,027) Crossfall Games
Hellboy Web of Wyrd older $24.99 681 71% 20k $511k (exactly $510,546) Upstream Arcade
We Are The Dwarves older $14.99 1,072 75% 32k $482k (exactly $482,078) Whale Rock Games
EXD - Extra Dimensional $29.99 316 82% 9.5k $284k (exactly $284,305) Lords of Illusion
Guidus Zero $14.99 609 75% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) izzle
Strikey Sisters older $9.99 785 90% 24k $235k (exactly $235,264) DYA Games
Unmourned $24.99 258 79% 7.7k $193k (exactly $193,423) Codebros Studio
PIT OF GOBLIN · EA $5.99 915 84% 27k $164k (exactly $164,426) Friendly Foe
Meowgic $7.99 462 79% 14k $111k (exactly $110,741) Lazy Turtle Games
Maid of Salvation $14.99 209 88% 6.3k $94k (exactly $93,987) ORANGE POPCORN
Warrior Maiden Lecia and the Lost Fortress $19.99 149 85% 4.5k $89k (exactly $89,355) Kuroto Zakka
Chained in the Backrooms · EA $2.99 933 68% 28k $84k (exactly $83,690) Task+ Studios

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