Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Based On A Novel

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Novel-Based Adventure game?

Adventure + Based On A Novel

Only 5 developers shipped a Novel-Based Adventure game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Edgar Allan Poe's Interactive Horror: 1995 Edition, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 4 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.3k against a market of $480. 4 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 4 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Based On A Novel
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 5

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Adventure + Based On A Novel: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 5
Bottom 30% $713 (exactly $713)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,588)
Top 5% $6.3k (exactly $6,294)
Developers, 2 yr 5
Released games 78
Announced 4
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Adventure
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Based On A Novel
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 452,598 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $6.2k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 4 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Adventure with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SamuraiFair13 devs · median $261k · 14 announced
  2. + FMVFair144 devs · median $39k · 151 announced
  3. + PinballFair11 devs · median $8.1k · 17 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair40 devs · median $6.3k · 50 announced
  5. + Escape RoomFair165 devs · median $2.2k · 151 announced
  6. + Mini GolfFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 11 announced
  7. + SportsFair228 devs · median $1.5k · 224 announced
  8. + GolfFair18 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair384 devs · median $1.2k · 420 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair33 devs · median $599 · 33 announced
  11. + Traditional RoguelikeFair89 devs · median $449 · 119 announced
  12. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds10 devs · median $561k · 7 announced

All 279 pairs on the Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Metro 2033 Redux older $19.99 94,968 91% 2.8M $57M (exactly $56,952,310) 4A Games
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition older $19.99 80,882 89% 2.4M $49M (exactly $48,504,935) CD PROJEKT RED
Metro: Last Light Redux older $19.99 71,435 91% 2.1M $43M (exactly $42,839,570) 4A Games
Middle-earth™: Shadow of Mordor™ older $19.99 63,815 92% 1.9M $38M (exactly $38,269,856) Monolith Productions
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut older $9.99 81,712 89% 2.5M $24M (exactly $24,489,086) CD PROJEKT RED
Alice: Madness Returns older $9.99 27,795 90% 834k $8.3M (exactly $8,330,162) Spicy Horse Games
Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth- older $19.99 7,132 92% 214k $4.3M (exactly $4,277,060) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth older $19.99 5,926 92% 178k $3.6M (exactly $3,553,822) Daedalic Entertainment
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing older $14.99 7,720 83% 232k $3.5M (exactly $3,471,684) NeocoreGames
Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword older $9.99 11,213 87% 336k $3.4M (exactly $3,360,536) TaleWorlds Entertainment
Edgar Allan Poe's Interactive Horror: 1995 Edition $9.99 21 95% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Inscape, GMedia
Veins of DARKNESS $2.99 40 87% 1.2k $3.6k (exactly $3,588) Langonier
Nemunai $6.99 6 83% 180 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) DavMY Studios
The Cats of Monte Cristo $0.99 24 83% 720 $713 (exactly $713) Snkl Studio
Tale of the Leading star $9.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) 废材炼金术士

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