Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Runner

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Runner

Of 221 developers who shipped a Runner 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.. 194 more are announced.

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. 106 developers shipped in the last year and 194 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 194 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Runner
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 221
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $356 → $299 → $299 → $238 → $297 → $359 → $185 (still earning) → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Runner: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 221
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 5% $13k (exactly $13,486)
Developers, 2 yr 221
Released games 665
Announced 194
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.00

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 45% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Runner
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, Runner; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Platformer
Price point
$4.00 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $4.00.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 15,436 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $270, 1 in 4 over $1.0k, 1 in 20 over $13k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. Nearly all of the 142 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 194 games are announced against 106 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Ghostrunner 2 2023 · $9.6M Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst 2020 · $8.4M Haste 2025 · $7.6M Phantom Abyss 2024 · $1.2M Bloodthief 2025 · $610k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ghostrunner 2 older $39.99 7,981 80% 239k $9.6M (exactly $9,574,806) One More Level
Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst older $19.99 14,078 79% 422k $8.4M (exactly $8,442,577) DICE
Haste $19.99 12,690 92% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) Landfall
Phantom Abyss older $19.99 1,962 81% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,176,611) Team WIBY
Bloodthief $19.99 1,017 95% 31k $610k (exactly $609,895) Blargis
I wanna be the Creator older $5.99 2,860 94% 86k $514k (exactly $513,942) Aikesi
Bionic Bay $19.99 750 84% 23k $450k (exactly $449,775) Psychoflow Studio, Mureena Oy
Super Dark Deception older $17.99 660 65% 20k $356k (exactly $356,202) Glowstick Entertainment
TASOMACHI: Behind the Twilight older $19.99 529 75% 16k $317k (exactly $317,241) Orbital Express
Dino Run DX older $5.99 1,124 95% 34k $202k (exactly $201,983) Pixeljam
CONERU -DIMENSION GIRL- $19.99 263 96% 7.9k $158k (exactly $157,721) HIKE Inc., Eallin Japan Co.Ltd.
Relooted $14.99 257 87% 7.7k $116k (exactly $115,573) Nyamakop
JETRUNNER $9.99 118 96% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,365) Riddlebit Software
Catch Me $5.99 178 70% 5.3k $32k (exactly $31,987) Doorway Games
Sex on the beach $24.99 30 63% 900 $22k (exactly $22,491) Games For Pleasure
Zardy's Cave $7.99 84 80% 2.5k $20k (exactly $20,135) Full Trek Media
SCHROTT: Roguelike Racer · EA $12.99 49 91% 1.5k $19k (exactly $19,095) Ivy Juice

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