Do I ship it?

Games › Adventure › Adventure + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Adventure game?

Adventure + Hacking

Of 63 developers who shipped a Hacking 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.. 147 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×830 the market median. Revenue is up 270% on the market; 147 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 270% on the market, 147 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 63
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $15k → $4.2k → $3.7k → $1.7k → $1.6k → $2.4k → $5.5k (still earning) → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 63
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,395)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,193)
Top 5% $394k (exactly $394,387)
Developers, 2 yr 63
Released games 224
Announced 147
Effort 4 / 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 up 270% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.

Adventure
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Hacking
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $21.64 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $21.64 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 51,387 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $390k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 147 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 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

Watch_Dogs® 2 2016 · $143M PRAGMATA 2026 · $59M Watch_Dogs™ 2014 · $30M Crime Scene Cleaner 2024 · $29M Watch Dogs®: Legion 2023 · $21M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Watch_Dogs® 2 older $49.99 95,242 82% 2.9M $143M (exactly $142,834,427) Ubisoft
PRAGMATA $59.99 32,885 96% 987k $59M (exactly $59,183,134) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Watch_Dogs™ older $19.99 49,193 79% 1.5M $30M (exactly $29,501,042) Ubisoft
Crime Scene Cleaner older $29.99 32,469 98% 974k $29M (exactly $29,212,359) President Studio
Watch Dogs®: Legion older $59.99 11,891 56% 357k $21M (exactly $21,400,233) Ubisoft Toronto
Shadows of Doubt $24.99 14,646 82% 439k $11M (exactly $10,980,106) ColePowered Games
Hacknet older $9.99 16,910 93% 507k $5.1M (exactly $5,067,927) Team Fractal Alligator
Operation: Tango older $19.99 7,167 86% 215k $4.3M (exactly $4,298,050) Clever Plays
Streamer Life Simulator older $19.99 7,066 77% 212k $4.2M (exactly $4,237,480) Cheesecake Dev
Thief Simulator 2 older $19.99 6,568 87% 197k $3.9M (exactly $3,938,830) CookieDev, Ultimate Games S.A.
Agent 64: Spies Never Die $21.64 863 86% 26k $560k (exactly $560,260) Replicant D6
Deathground · EA $14.99 877 61% 26k $394k (exactly $394,387) Jaw Drop Games
Cybernetic Fault $14.99 679 78% 20k $305k (exactly $305,346) Whale Rock Games
No Players Online $14.99 624 83% 19k $281k (exactly $280,613) Beeswax Games
Midnight Heist $9.99 389 92% 12k $117k (exactly $116,583) MediaTale
Unsafe Express $11.99 222 59% 6.7k $80k (exactly $79,853) OnSkull Games
Carmen Sandiego $29.99 86 67% 2.6k $77k (exactly $77,374) Gameloft
HeistGeist $19.90 116 95% 3.5k $69k (exactly $69,252) Doublequote Studio

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