Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Adventure game?

Adventure + Demons

Of 574 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 784 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $330; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×579 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 784 games are announced against 301 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 784 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 574
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.7k → $1.5k → $1.9k → $2.2k → $1.5k → $1.3k → $1.2k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 574
Bottom 30% $329 (exactly $329)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Top 25% $8.5k (exactly $8,544)
Top 5% $275k (exactly $274,825)
Developers, 2 yr 574
Released games 1,631
Announced 784
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 up 20% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.

Adventure
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Demons
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; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Dark, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 91,645 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $330, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $8.5k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $330. 8 in 10 of the 351 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 784 games are announced against 301 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

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
DOOM Eternal older $29.99 187,483 91% 5.6M $169M (exactly $168,678,455) id Software
Devil May Cry 5 older $29.99 119,108 96% 3.6M $107M (exactly $107,161,468) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
DOOM: The Dark Ages $49.99 32,209 88% 966k $48M (exactly $48,303,837) id Software
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles older $59.99 16,545 87% 496k $30M (exactly $29,776,036) CyberConnect2
Mortal Shell II $49.99 18,644 79% 559k $28M (exactly $27,960,407) Cold Symmetry
ASTLIBRA Revision older $24.99 30,262 95% 908k $23M (exactly $22,687,421) KEIZO
Shadow Warrior 2 older $29.99 24,120 87% 724k $22M (exactly $21,700,764) Flying Wild Hog
DmC: Devil May Cry older $29.99 20,938 93% 628k $19M (exactly $18,837,919) Ninja Theory
Devil May Cry HD Collection older $29.99 19,493 93% 585k $18M (exactly $17,537,852) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Evil West older $49.99 10,215 74% 306k $15M (exactly $15,319,436) Flying Wild Hog
Ghost Watchers $14.99 12,729 86% 382k $5.7M (exactly $5,724,231) Renderise
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 $59.99 2,879 83% 86k $5.2M (exactly $5,181,336) CyberConnect2
Look Outside $9.99 13,586 98% 408k $4.1M (exactly $4,071,724) Francis Coulombe
Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered $29.99 3,042 90% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,736,887) Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound $24.99 2,500 92% 75k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,250) The Game Kitchen
Skate Story $19.99 2,733 96% 82k $1.6M (exactly $1,638,980) by Sam Eng
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army $49.99 1,045 93% 31k $1.6M (exactly $1,567,186) ATLUS
Silly Polly Beast $19.99 2,278 90% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,366,117) Anji

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