Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Psychological

Of 261 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 466 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $810, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×233 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 466 games are announced against 153 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 466 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 261
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.8k → $1.4k → $2.4k → $1.8k → $1.8k → $1.2k → $536 (still earning) → $234 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 261
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $807 (exactly $807)
Top 25% $5.9k (exactly $5,920)
Top 5% $146k (exactly $146,192)
Developers, 2 yr 261
Released games 587
Announced 466
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 down 20% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Psychological
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 3D
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 90% positive over 90,803 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $810, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 128 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 466 games are announced against 153 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action-Adventure with a different setting or mood, 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
SILENT HILL 2 $69.99 43,367 94% 1.3M $91M (exactly $91,057,690) Bloober Team SA
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice older $29.99 66,788 90% 2.0M $60M (exactly $60,089,164) Ninja Theory
SILENT HILL f $69.99 19,061 80% 572k $40M (exactly $40,022,382) NeoBards Entertainment Ltd.
BONELAB older $39.99 18,670 82% 560k $22M (exactly $22,398,399) Stress Level Zero
Psychonauts 2 older $59.99 12,333 95% 370k $22M (exactly $22,195,700) Double Fine Productions
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga older $49.99 9,381 86% 281k $14M (exactly $14,068,686) Ninja Theory
Viewfinder older $24.99 11,901 94% 357k $8.9M (exactly $8,922,180) Sad Owl Studios
Alice: Madness Returns older $9.99 27,795 90% 834k $8.3M (exactly $8,330,162) Spicy Horse Games
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One older $44.99 4,189 77% 126k $5.7M (exactly $5,653,893) Frogwares
Constance $19.99 2,822 82% 85k $1.7M (exactly $1,692,353) Blue Backpack
Psychopomp GOLD $8.99 4,884 97% 147k $1.3M (exactly $1,317,215) Fading Club
Total Chaos $24.99 1,561 86% 47k $1.2M (exactly $1,170,282) Trigger Happy Interactive
Last Report $4.99 2,423 89% 73k $363k (exactly $362,723) Monopixel Games
PEPPERED: an existential platformer $14.99 603 96% 18k $271k (exactly $271,169) Mostly Games
ENTITY: THE BLACK DAY $17.99 494 79% 15k $267k (exactly $266,612) ASD Games Studio
Unmourned $24.99 258 79% 7.7k $193k (exactly $193,423) Codebros Studio

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