Games › Adventure › Adventure + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Adventure game?
Adventure + Modern
Of 290 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 413 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×374 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 413 games are announced against 154 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,941) |
| Top 5% | $178k (exactly $177,722) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 290 |
| Released games | 897 |
| Announced | 413 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Adventure; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Choices Matter, Dating Sim
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 32,612 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 202 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 413 games are announced against 154 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Adventure with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SamuraiFair
- + FMVFair
- + PinballFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Mini GolfFair
- + SportsFair
- + GolfFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Battlefield™ 2042 | older | $59.99 | 260,308 49% | 7.8M | $468M (exactly $468,476,308) | DICE |
| | ASTLIBRA Revision | older | $24.99 | 30,262 95% | 908k | $23M (exactly $22,687,421) | KEIZO |
| | RoadCraft | $39.99 | 13,527 74% | 406k | $16M (exactly $16,228,342) | Saber Interactive | |
| | Judgment | older | $39.99 | 9,407 93% | 282k | $11M (exactly $11,285,578) | RGG Studio |
| | Lost Judgment | older | $39.99 | 7,461 93% | 224k | $9.0M (exactly $8,950,962) | RGG Studio |
| | Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter | $59.99 | 4,650 95% | 140k | $8.4M (exactly $8,368,605) | Nihon Falcom | |
| | The Drifter | $19.99 | 4,735 97% | 142k | $2.8M (exactly $2,839,580) | Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd | |
| | Animal Shelter | older | $19.99 | 3,642 87% | 109k | $2.2M (exactly $2,184,107) | Games Incubator |
| | Alpha Protocol™ | older | $19.99 | 3,420 83% | 103k | $2.1M (exactly $2,050,974) | Obsidian Entertainment |
| | River City Girls 2 | older | $39.99 | 1,552 85% | 47k | $1.9M (exactly $1,861,934) | WayForward |
| | Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo | $19.99 | 1,993 97% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,195,202) | Pocket Trap | |
| | Farmer's Dynasty 2 | · EA | $24.99 | 1,225 72% | 37k | $918k (exactly $918,382) | UMEO Studios |
| | The Scourge | Tai Ương | $19.99 | 1,192 93% | 36k | $715k (exactly $714,842) | Rare Reversee, Beaztek | |
| | Last Remains | · EA | $19.99 | 914 51% | 27k | $548k (exactly $548,126) | Earn Alliance |
| | Grandpa High on Retro | $7.99 | 2,068 88% | 62k | $496k (exactly $495,700) | Ashnell Games | |
| | Demons' Timeline | $10.99 | 1,046 97% | 31k | $345k (exactly $344,866) | DigitalCats | |
| | Blood Money: Lethal Eden | $8.99 | 1,262 91% | 38k | $340k (exactly $340,361) | 碧火互娱 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.