Games › Adventure › Adventure + Quick-Time Events
Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Adventure game?
Adventure + Quick-Time Events
Of 165 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events 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.. 228 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×788 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 228 games are announced against 102 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $537 (exactly $537) |
| Top 25% | $4.3k (exactly $4,315) |
| Top 5% | $374k (exactly $374,172) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 165 |
| Released games | 423 |
| Announced | 228 |
| 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 30% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Quick-Time Events
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Adventure, Quick-Time Events; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Choices Matter, Action
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 87,085 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 84 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 228 games are announced against 102 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Adventure with a different second tag, 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
Stellar Blade™ 2025 · $110M 
Tomb Raider Game of the Year 2013 · $104M 
Resident Evil 4 (2005) 2014 · $47M 
Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare 2016 · $31M 
Resident Evil 6 2013 · $31M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stellar Blade™ | $59.99 | 61,289 93% | 1.8M | $110M (exactly $110,301,813) | SHIFT UP Corporation | |
| | Tomb Raider Game of the Year | older | $19.99 | 173,270 95% | 5.2M | $104M (exactly $103,910,019) | Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral… (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral Interactive (Mac), Nixxes) |
| | Resident Evil 4 (2005) | older | $19.99 | 78,502 94% | 2.4M | $47M (exactly $47,077,649) | Capcom |
| | Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare | older | $59.99 | 17,489 65% | 525k | $31M (exactly $31,474,953) | Infinity Ward |
| | Resident Evil 6 | older | $19.99 | 51,420 77% | 1.5M | $31M (exactly $30,836,574) | Capcom |
 | Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles | older | $59.99 | 16,545 87% | 496k | $30M (exactly $29,776,036) | CyberConnect2 |
 | Resident Evil 5 | older | $19.99 | 48,521 87% | 1.5M | $29M (exactly $29,098,044) | Capcom |
 | The Quarry | older | $59.99 | 16,127 83% | 484k | $29M (exactly $29,023,762) | Supermassive Games |
 | The Walking Dead | older | $14.99 | 53,650 97% | 1.6M | $24M (exactly $24,126,405) | Telltale Games |
 | Beyond: Two Souls | older | $19.99 | 37,154 87% | 1.1M | $22M (exactly $22,281,254) | Quantic Dream |
 | SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS | $49.99 | 12,178 96% | 365k | $18M (exactly $18,263,347) | Sonic Team | |
 | Until Dawn™ | $59.99 | 3,564 82% | 107k | $6.4M (exactly $6,414,131) | Ballistic Moon | |
 | Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 | $59.99 | 2,879 83% | 86k | $5.2M (exactly $5,181,336) | CyberConnect2 | |
 | A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead | $29.99 | 2,331 74% | 70k | $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) | Stormind Games | |
 | Directive 8020 | $49.99 | 1,337 63% | 40k | $2.0M (exactly $2,005,099) | Supermassive Games | |
 | PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC | $29.99 | 694 90% | 21k | $624k (exactly $624,392) | NOW PRODUCTION Co., Ltd. | |
 | The Use of Life | $19.99 | 764 90% | 23k | $458k (exactly $458,171) | だらねこげーむず/Daraneko Games | |
 | The Inn-Sanity | $7.99 | 1,561 96% | 47k | $374k (exactly $374,172) | Steppe Hare Studio | |
 | THE VIG | $17.99 | 488 90% | 15k | $263k (exactly $263,374) | 亦盈文化, 山与海工作室, 北京超带感 |
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.