Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Resource Management Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Resource Management

Of 176 developers who shipped a Resource Management 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.. 435 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×1002 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 435 games are announced against 99 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 435 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 176
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.1k → $16k → $538 → $1.3k → $1.2k → $1.3k → $1.6k (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 176
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,740)
Top 5% $629k (exactly $629,115)
Developers, 2 yr 176
Released games 361
Announced 435
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 70% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Resource Management
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, Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 52,198 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $620k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 90 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 435 games are announced against 99 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 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

Resident Evil 4 2023 · $224M Soulmask 2026 · $17M The Alters 2025 · $16M Cronos: The New Dawn 2025 · $14M Amnesia: The Bunker 2023 · $7.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Resident Evil 4 older $39.99 186,701 97% 5.6M $224M (exactly $223,985,190) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Soulmask $29.99 18,445 76% 553k $17M (exactly $16,594,966) CampFire Studio
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
Amnesia: The Bunker older $24.99 10,349 93% 310k $7.8M (exactly $7,758,645) Frictional Games
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
My Friendly Neighborhood older $29.99 2,485 96% 75k $2.2M (exactly $2,235,754) John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure $29.99 1,867 82% 56k $1.7M (exactly $1,679,740) Massive Miniteam
Eden Crafters $19.99 2,507 85% 75k $1.5M (exactly $1,503,448) Osaris Games
AETHUS $19.99 2,030 94% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,217,391) Pawsmonaut Games
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Orebound · EA $24.99 945 77% 28k $708k (exactly $708,466) Emberforge
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games

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