Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Underground

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Underground Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Underground

Of 95 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 192 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×350 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 192 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 192 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Underground
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 95
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $898 → $898 → $1.3k → $1.8k → $3.0k → $180 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Underground: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 95
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,591)
Top 5% $220k (exactly $219,527)
Developers, 2 yr 95
Released games 263
Announced 192
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 60% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Underground
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 16,802 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 61 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 192 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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

BONELAB 2022 · $22M Watch Dogs®: Legion 2023 · $21M Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic 2025 · $13M HAAK 2022 · $1.7M Prison Escape Simulator: Dig Out 2025 · $837k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BONELAB older $39.99 18,670 82% 560k $22M (exactly $22,398,399) Stress Level Zero
Watch Dogs®: Legion older $59.99 11,891 56% 357k $21M (exactly $21,400,233) Ubisoft Toronto
Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic $39.99 10,874 86% 326k $13M (exactly $13,045,538) Steel Wool Studios
HAAK older $17.99 3,149 89% 94k $1.7M (exactly $1,699,515) Blingame
Prison Escape Simulator: Dig Out $7.99 3,490 85% 105k $837k (exactly $836,553) Digital Melody
Never Return · EA older $13.99 1,453 73% 44k $610k (exactly $609,824) YeMuNetWork
Frogmonster older $19.99 585 96% 18k $351k (exactly $350,824) Ben Jungwirth
Back in Service: a Metro Driver · EA $18.99 448 97% 13k $255k (exactly $255,226) Dominik Vojta
The Falconeer: Revolution Remaster older $19.99 416 81% 12k $249k (exactly $249,475) Tomas Sala
Shadow Labyrinth $29.99 277 54% 8.3k $249k (exactly $249,217) Bandai Namco Studios Inc.
Reach $29.99 244 66% 7.3k $220k (exactly $219,527) nDreams Elevation
The Knight Girl And Dungeons $11.99 397 67% 12k $143k (exactly $142,801) こねこぼくし
Cralon $19.99 192 71% 5.8k $115k (exactly $115,142) Pithead Studio
The Siege and the Sandfox $14.99 180 64% 5.4k $81k (exactly $80,946) Cardboard Sword
DigDigDrill $3.99 607 95% 18k $73k (exactly $72,658) Toorai
Elmarion: the Lost Temple $14.99 93 67% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Fleon Games

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