Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Superhero

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Superhero Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Superhero

Of 33 developers who shipped a Superhero 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.. 68 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $960, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210. 68 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper, while revenue is down 30% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 68 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Superhero
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $1.8k → $7.7k → $4.0k → $5.0k → $6.3k → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Superhero: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,472)
Top 5% $18M (exactly $18,326,182)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 135
Announced 68
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 30% on the market, supply 55% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Superhero
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action-Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Combat
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Comic Book, 3D, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 50,062 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $960, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $18M.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered older $59.99 101,879 96% 3.1M $183M (exactly $183,351,636) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy older $59.99 35,397 93% 1.1M $64M (exactly $63,703,981) Eidos-Montréal
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 $59.99 33,433 83% 1.0M $60M (exactly $60,169,370) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales older $49.99 39,234 93% 1.2M $59M (exactly $58,839,230) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition older $19.99 62,057 96% 1.9M $37M (exactly $37,215,583) Rocksteady Studios
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition older $19.99 55,935 95% 1.7M $34M (exactly $33,544,219) Rocksteady Studios
Gotham Knights older $59.99 15,688 68% 471k $28M (exactly $28,233,694) Warner Bros. Games Montréal, QLOC
Batman™: Arkham Origins older $19.99 45,536 90% 1.4M $27M (exactly $27,307,939) WB Games Montreal, Splash Damage
LEGO® Batman™: Legacy of the Dark Knight $69.99 8,728 95% 262k $18M (exactly $18,326,182) TT Games
Prototype™ older $19.99 12,518 80% 376k $7.5M (exactly $7,507,045) Radical Entertainment
Invincible VS $49.99 3,031 76% 91k $4.5M (exactly $4,545,591) Quarter Up
Lost Soul Aside™ $59.99 1,307 59% 39k $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208) Ultizero Games
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion $29.99 2,298 88% 69k $2.1M (exactly $2,067,511) Tribute Games Inc.
Superhero Simulator · EA $5.99 867 73% 26k $156k (exactly $155,800) mightyraccoon! Studios
Infinite Lives $14.99 217 76% 6.5k $98k (exactly $97,585) MDickie
Taiwan Coolfox $24.99 57 78% 1.7k $43k (exactly $42,733) TSAI,JIE-TING 蔡杰廷, TSAI,KAI-SHIUN 蔡凱勛
Kijutsu Rider $9.99 95 56% 2.9k $28k (exactly $28,472) OmegaMechAnimations
Lethal Honor - Order of the Apocalypse $24.99 29 96% 870 $22k (exactly $21,741) Viral Studios

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