Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Noir
Should I ship a Noir Action-Adventure?
Action-Adventure + Noir
Of 61 developers who shipped a Noir 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.. 181 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $54k, ×87 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 181 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) |
| Top 5% | $55k (exactly $54,845) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 61 |
| Released games | 201 |
| Announced | 181 |
| 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 down 65% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Noir
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Action-Adventure; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, RPG
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 2,848 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 181 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action-Adventure with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + BikesFair
- + TransportationFair
- + MotorbikeFair
- + TypingLong shot
- + Time AttackLong shot
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mafia II: Definitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 28,886 74% | 867k | $26M (exactly $25,988,734) | Hangar 13, D3T |
| | Alice: Madness Returns | older | $9.99 | 27,795 90% | 834k | $8.3M (exactly $8,330,162) | Spicy Horse Games |
| | Lorelei and the Laser Eyes | older | $24.99 | 3,108 93% | 93k | $2.3M (exactly $2,330,068) | Simogo |
| | BUSTAFELLOWS | older | $39.99 | 968 86% | 29k | $1.2M (exactly $1,161,310) | NIPPON CULTURAL BROADCASTING EXTEND INC. |
| | Endoparasitic | older | $9.99 | 2,928 93% | 88k | $878k (exactly $877,522) | Miziziziz |
| | The Saboteur™ | older | $9.99 | 2,790 91% | 84k | $836k (exactly $836,163) | Pandemic Studios |
| | CYAN BRAIN | $14.99 | 1,463 89% | 44k | $658k (exactly $657,911) | NEKOUJI | |
| | The Last Case of Benedict Fox Definitive Edition | older | $24.99 | 786 71% | 24k | $589k (exactly $589,264) | Plot Twist |
| | LIBERATED | older | $19.99 | 679 77% | 20k | $407k (exactly $407,196) | Atomic Wolf, L.INC |
| | Crimson Oath | $14.99 | 750 82% | 23k | $337k (exactly $337,275) | Parry Frames Team | |
| | PROHIBEAST | $34.99 | 121 57% | 3.6k | $127k (exactly $127,014) | SUPER AC | |
| | Cyberpunk SFX | $9.99 | 183 83% | 5.5k | $55k (exactly $54,845) | Whale Rock Games | |
| | DeTechtive 2112 | $10.99 | 60 46% | 1.8k | $20k (exactly $19,782) | M11 Studio | |
| | Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split | $24.99 | 24 50% | 720 | $18k (exactly $17,993) | Dead Drop Studios LLC | |
| | Scary Shadow Spot - Last Farewell | $9.99 | 50 96% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $14,985) | Daniele Doesn't Matter | |
| | TOUHOU RHAPSODY OF MOON RABBIT | · EA | $9.99 | 47 82% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $14,086) | 瓦尔基里游戏 |
| | DOOMED Detective Game | $6.99 | 65 46% | 2.0k | $14k (exactly $13,630) | Azikton Studio | |
| | Serra de Deus | $4.99 | 85 94% | 2.6k | $13k (exactly $12,724) | David Pateti |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.