Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Boss Rush

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Boss Rush Adventure game?

Adventure + Boss Rush

Of 23 developers who shipped a Boss Rush Adventure game 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.. 47 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $13k, ×29 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 47 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 47 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Boss Rush
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $25k → $3.3k → $6.5k → $5.0k → $1.2k → $449 (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Boss Rush: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $5.0k (exactly $5,036)
Top 5% $14k (exactly $13,772)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 62
Announced 47
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 55% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Adventure
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Boss Rush
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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, Boss Rush; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, 2D Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 547 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $5.0k, 1 in 20 over $13k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. All of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Adventure with a different second tag, 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
Titan Souls older $14.99 8,002 82% 240k $3.6M (exactly $3,598,499) Acid Nerve
Eldest Souls older $19.99 3,125 76% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,062) Fallen Flag Studio
Jotun: Valhalla Edition older $14.99 2,215 77% 66k $996k (exactly $996,086) Thunder Lotus
Perennial Order older $19.99 687 93% 21k $412k (exactly $411,994) Gardenfiend Games
ITTA older $14.99 386 89% 12k $174k (exactly $173,584) Glass Revolver
The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human older $9.99 459 73% 14k $138k (exactly $137,562) YCJY Games
Gurei $15.99 281 83% 8.4k $135k (exactly $134,796) Lobo Sagaz studio
Air Twister older $24.99 101 93% 3.0k $76k (exactly $75,720) YS NET
Prison City older $9.99 152 84% 4.6k $46k (exactly $45,554) Retroware, Programancer
Godstrike older $5.99 180 66% 5.4k $32k (exactly $32,346) OverPowered Team
ABYSSAL BLADE $4.99 92 96% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,772) Vifer Games
Dustless $5.99 39 71% 1.2k $7.0k (exactly $7,008) 神刀之死
Scarlet City of Devils $8.99 25 88% 750 $6.7k (exactly $6,742) Shademare
Baseless $12.99 15 93% 450 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Fermenter Games
Basureroes: Invasion $11.99 14 100% 420 $5.0k (exactly $5,036) Javs Game Studios
Botanica $9.99 14 92% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Second Fiddle Studio
Spirited Line $4.99 26 92% 780 $3.9k (exactly $3,892) Eazy Wizard
Echoes of Forgotten Dreams $4.99 25 100% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Nomary, Sesame
InTheLake $4.99 16 100% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) ZhiZhi

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