Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Trading

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Trading Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Trading

Of 21 developers who shipped a Trading 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.. 95 more are announced, ×12 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×383 the market median. Revenue is up 405% on the market; 95 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 405% on the market, 95 announced, ×12 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Trading
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $1.2k → $12k → $10k → $57k (still earning) → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Trading: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,317)
Top 25% $49k (exactly $48,568)
Top 5% $240k (exactly $240,480)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 60
Announced 95
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 405% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Trading
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, Trading; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Simulation, Adventure
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 4,703 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $48k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 95 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×12 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

The Oregon Trail 2022 · $1.1M Prison Escape Simulator: Dig Out 2025 · $837k Windward Horizon 2025 · $240k Time on Frog Island 2022 · $170k Parking Garage Simulator 2026 · EA · $73k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Oregon Trail older $29.99 1,220 79% 37k $1.1M (exactly $1,097,634) Gameloft
Prison Escape Simulator: Dig Out $7.99 3,490 85% 105k $837k (exactly $836,553) Digital Melody
Windward Horizon $19.99 401 79% 12k $240k (exactly $240,480) Tasharen Entertainment Inc.
Time on Frog Island older $19.99 284 71% 8.5k $170k (exactly $170,315) Half Past Yellow
Parking Garage Simulator · EA $11.99 203 38% 6.1k $73k (exactly $73,019) Root Games
Following Seas · EA $14.99 153 76% 4.6k $69k (exactly $68,804) Whipstaff Games
Ironsmith Medieval Simulator older $9.99 214 26% 6.4k $64k (exactly $64,136) The EpicLore
My Little Cafe Nightmare $8.99 210 90% 6.3k $57k (exactly $56,637) SethMadDev
Terror of the Seven Seas $14.99 108 78% 3.2k $49k (exactly $48,568) Cutthroat Games
Lost Angel older $19.99 43 58% 1.3k $26k (exactly $25,787) Dolphin media, Intofeel Company
QUESTSCAPE: Survival $11.99 34 64% 1.0k $12k (exactly $12,230) ScapeCompany
Shopkeeper: My First Supermarket $9.99 35 51% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Supa Games
T.D.Z. 4 Chapter 1 - Arrival $5.99 38 92% 1.1k $6.8k (exactly $6,829) Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV
HorSteal $3.99 31 93% 930 $3.7k (exactly $3,711) JebiDeungDeung, Jebi Studio

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