Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Quick-Time Events

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Quick-Time Events

Of 68 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events 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.. 130 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 44 developers shipped in the last year and 130 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 130 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Quick-Time Events
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 68
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $597 → $239 → $359 → $479 → $449 → $239 → $210 (still earning) → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Quick-Time Events: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 68
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $959 (exactly $959)
Top 5% $220k (exactly $219,527)
Developers, 2 yr 68
Released games 190
Announced 130
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 15% on the market, supply 85% 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
Quick-Time Events
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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, Quick-Time Events; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 63,663 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $270, 1 in 4 over $950, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 130 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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
Stellar Blade™ $59.99 61,289 93% 1.8M $110M (exactly $110,301,813) SHIFT UP Corporation
Tomb Raider Game of the Year older $19.99 173,270 95% 5.2M $104M (exactly $103,910,019) Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral… (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral Interactive (Mac), Nixxes)
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles older $59.99 16,545 87% 496k $30M (exactly $29,776,036) CyberConnect2
Assassin’s Creed® Rogue older $19.99 21,310 86% 639k $13M (exactly $12,779,607) Ubisoft Sofia, Ubisoft Kiev
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition older $29.99 7,998 80% 240k $7.2M (exactly $7,195,801) MercurySteam, Climax Studios
The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me older $39.99 3,778 56% 113k $4.5M (exactly $4,532,467) Supermassive Games
New Tales from the Borderlands older $39.99 1,737 29% 52k $2.1M (exactly $2,083,879) Gearbox Software
Directive 8020 $49.99 1,337 63% 40k $2.0M (exactly $2,005,099) Supermassive Games
Shenmue III older $29.99 1,028 75% 31k $925k (exactly $924,892) YS NET
PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC $29.99 694 90% 21k $624k (exactly $624,392) NOW PRODUCTION Co., Ltd.
The Occultist $29.99 244 74% 7.3k $220k (exactly $219,527) DALOAR
VanillaBeast: Mystery Kink $14.99 13 92% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Vanilla Gaming Company
Hydro $8.99 16 100% 480 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Harman Motor Works
BURIED BELOW $4.99 23 91% 690 $3.4k (exactly $3,443) Aura studios
15th Prison $3.99 28 92% 840 $3.4k (exactly $3,352) Zettanium
Night of the Dead Simulator $7.99 12 50% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Unknown People Lab
Super Miaoyin $8.99 7 85% 210 $1.9k (exactly $1,888) Hou Xiaohou

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