Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Romance

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Romance Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Romance

Of 77 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 120 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $10k, ×16 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $590k, ×950 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 120 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 16.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 120 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Romance
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 77
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $597 → $6.8k → $3.5k → $14k → $19k → $3.3k → $10k (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Romance: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 77
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,948)
Median $10k (exactly $10,343)
Top 25% $50k (exactly $50,232)
Top 5% $597k (exactly $596,501)
Developers, 2 yr 77
Released games 237
Announced 120
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $10.99

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 35% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Romance
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Dating Sim, RPG
Price point
$10.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 7,857 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $10k, 1 in 4 over $50k, 1 in 20 over $590k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 7 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 120 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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
GreedFall older $34.99 18,460 75% 554k $19M (exactly $19,377,462) Spiders
Haven older $24.99 5,294 88% 159k $4.0M (exactly $3,968,912) The Game Bakers
The Bridge Curse Road to Salvation older $19.99 2,989 89% 90k $1.8M (exactly $1,792,503) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Third Crisis older $24.99 1,805 91% 54k $1.4M (exactly $1,353,208) Anduo Games
BUSTAFELLOWS older $39.99 968 86% 29k $1.2M (exactly $1,161,310) NIPPON CULTURAL BROADCASTING EXTEND INC.
Prince of Persia® older $9.99 3,717 78% 112k $1.1M (exactly $1,113,985) Ubisoft Montreal
SHUTEN ORDER $49.99 712 80% 21k $1.1M (exactly $1,067,786) Neilo Inc.
The Wife Next Door $16.99 1,951 89% 59k $994k (exactly $994,425) 雪山雞白郎, SnowGBL
Mahou Arms $39.99 618 73% 19k $741k (exactly $741,415) Dischan Media
Degrees of Separation older $19.99 1,011 80% 30k $606k (exactly $606,297) Moondrop
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny $29.99 663 85% 20k $597k (exactly $596,501) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Incantation $16.99 1,106 73% 33k $564k (exactly $563,728) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Happy Island Fantasy $14.99 1,186 88% 36k $533k (exactly $533,344) HappyCreator
Sensual Adventures - Treasure Island · EA $29.99 303 81% 9.1k $273k (exactly $272,609) Puppetmaster3dx
Tamer: King of Dinosaurs · EA $24.99 347 86% 10k $260k (exactly $260,146) Ride the Lion Studios
Refate: Echoes of Desire $14.99 558 87% 17k $251k (exactly $250,933) Terraflame Entertainment
Fox Sex Farm $17.99 413 82% 12k $223k (exactly $222,896) R's

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