Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Western

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Western Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Western

Of 43 developers who shipped a Western 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.. 70 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $880k, ×1415 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 70 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 70 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Western
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $269 → $1.0k → $599 → $1.4k → $2.0k → $419 → $11k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Western: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,676)
Top 25% $51k (exactly $51,283)
Top 5% $889k (exactly $888,755)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 106
Announced 70
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 80% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Western
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Shooter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 54,382 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $51k, 1 in 20 over $880k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 70 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

Red Dead Redemption 2024 · $30M Far Far West 2026 · EA · $19M Evil West 2022 · $15M Wild West Legacy 2024 · $1.4M Arco 2024 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Red Dead Redemption $49.99 20,294 92% 609k $30M (exactly $30,434,912) Rockstar Games, Double Eleven
Far Far West · EA $19.99 31,458 95% 944k $19M (exactly $18,865,363) Evil Raptor
Evil West older $49.99 10,215 74% 306k $15M (exactly $15,319,436) Flying Wild Hog
Wild West Legacy older $26.99 1,706 39% 51k $1.4M (exactly $1,381,348) Moon Punch Studio
Arco older $19.99 2,185 96% 66k $1.3M (exactly $1,310,344) Franek, Max Cahill, Bibiki, Fáyer
The Oregon Trail older $29.99 1,220 79% 37k $1.1M (exactly $1,097,634) Gameloft
Mohrta $19.99 1,482 91% 44k $889k (exactly $888,755) Scumhead, Osiol
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD older $9.99 1,534 87% 46k $460k (exactly $459,740) Oddworld Inhabitants
They Always Run older $9.99 770 78% 23k $231k (exactly $230,769) Alawar
Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster $29.99 230 93% 6.9k $207k (exactly $206,931) LucasArts, Nightdive Studios
Bounty Star $24.99 159 65% 4.8k $119k (exactly $119,202) DINOGOD
Golden Chambers · EA $19.99 195 80% 5.9k $117k (exactly $116,941) Mr. Pink
Dino Path Trail $14.99 197 76% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) Void Pointer
Western Rye · EA $21.99 104 53% 3.1k $69k (exactly $68,609) Nixalon Studios
WANTED: Wild Sluts 🔞 $14.99 140 68% 4.2k $63k (exactly $62,958) Lewd Star
Deadrock Redemption 2 $14.99 123 86% 3.7k $55k (exactly $55,313) Entropy Digital Entertainment

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