Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Modern

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 413 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 290
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $2.5k → $2.2k → $3.3k → $3.1k → $1.4k → $599 (still earning) → $628 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 290
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.

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
Modern
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 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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

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.

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
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.