Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Horses

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horse Adventure game?

Adventure + Horses

Of 30 developers who shipped a Horse 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.. 66 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.0k, ×9.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $30M, ×48463 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 66 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 66 announced, ×5.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Horses
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $1.8k → $35k → $103k → $135k → $1.3k → $582k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Horses: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Median $6.0k (exactly $5,992)
Top 25% $246k (exactly $245,877)
Top 5% $30M (exactly $30,434,912)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 141
Announced 66
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 65% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Horses
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Open World, Exploration, Action
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Third Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 140,968 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $6.0k, 1 in 4 over $240k, 1 in 20 over $30M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 6 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 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
Red Dead Redemption 2 older $59.99 846,270 92% 25M $1.5B (exactly $1,523,032,119) Rockstar Games
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord older $49.99 230,490 87% 6.9M $346M (exactly $345,665,853) TaleWorlds Entertainment
Crimson Desert Enhanced $69.99 115,056 83% 3.5M $242M (exactly $241,583,083) Pearl Abyss
Kingdom Come: Deliverance older $29.99 143,303 83% 4.3M $129M (exactly $128,929,709) Warhorse Studios
Mount & Blade: Warband older $19.99 135,425 97% 4.1M $81M (exactly $81,214,372) TaleWorlds Entertainment
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN older $19.99 73,137 91% 2.2M $44M (exactly $43,860,259) KONAMI
Red Dead Online older $19.99 59,572 82% 1.8M $36M (exactly $35,725,328) Rockstar Games
Red Dead Redemption $49.99 20,294 92% 609k $30M (exactly $30,434,912) Rockstar Games, Double Eleven
Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword older $9.99 11,213 87% 336k $3.4M (exactly $3,360,536) TaleWorlds Entertainment
DEEEER Simulator: Your Average Everyday Deer Game older $14.99 4,443 92% 133k $2.0M (exactly $1,998,017) Gibier Games
The Legend of Khiimori · EA $29.99 1,929 82% 58k $1.7M (exactly $1,735,521) Aesir Interactive, NightinGames
Equinox: Homecoming $14.99 1,294 80% 39k $582k (exactly $581,912) Blue Scarab Entertainment
Viking Frontiers $19.99 537 51% 16k $322k (exactly $322,039) BLUM Entertainment
Ertugrul of Ulukayin · EA $19.99 447 84% 13k $268k (exactly $268,066) Tekden Studio
Wild Indigo Ranch $19.99 424 68% 13k $254k (exactly $254,273) Funday Games
Gaucho and the Grassland $19.99 410 96% 12k $246k (exactly $245,877) Epopeia Games
A Merchant's Promise · EA $14.99 300 86% 9.0k $135k (exactly $134,910) Game Draft Studio
Sound of Horses · EA $14.99 277 95% 8.3k $125k (exactly $124,567) Vanilla Sky Productions AB

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