Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Rome

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roman Adventure game?

Adventure + Rome

Of 20 developers who shipped a Roman 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.. 28 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×4.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×182 the market median. Revenue is up 335% on the market; 28 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 335% on the market, 28 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Rome
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $21k → $3.5k → $1.9k → $449 → $6.5k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Rome: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,967)
Top 25% $7.9k (exactly $7,900)
Top 5% $114k (exactly $114,224)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 68
Announced 28
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 335% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Rome
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Adventure; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Choose Your Own Adventure, Dating Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 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 $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 550 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $7.9k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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
Total War: ATTILA older $19.99 26,918 82% 808k $16M (exactly $16,142,725) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive
Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood older $19.99 24,958 88% 749k $15M (exactly $14,967,313) Ubisoft Montreal
Ryse: Son of Rome older $9.99 38,308 87% 1.1M $11M (exactly $11,480,908) Crytek
The Forgotten City older $24.99 11,159 96% 335k $8.4M (exactly $8,365,902) Modern Storyteller
Shieldwall older $17.99 7,148 86% 214k $3.9M (exactly $3,857,776) Nezon Production
The Age of Decadence older $14.99 3,582 82% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,610,825) Iron Tower Studio
Slaves of Rome older $24.99 1,924 73% 58k $1.4M (exactly $1,442,423) Biggus Diccus Games
Warlord: Britannia older $19.99 1,890 88% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,133,433) Darkmatter Games
Formata older $9.99 902 63% 27k $270k (exactly $270,329) Nezon Production
Ludus older $9.99 794 71% 24k $238k (exactly $237,962) Cheesecake Dev
Empire of Lust 🏛 $14.99 254 67% 7.6k $114k (exactly $114,224) Carnality INC
Roots in the Sky - The Hand of Glory 2 $19.99 44 97% 1.3k $26k (exactly $26,387) Madit Entertainment, Daring Touch
Wings of Empire · EA $14.99 49 87% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Droid Productions
Reavers of New Rome $14.99 25 96% 750 $11k (exactly $11,242) Renegade Sector Games
Rebellion: Rise of the Damned $3.99 66 69% 2.0k $7.9k (exactly $7,900) AGHAMUS
Ovidius (Blood for Love) $6.99 31 67% 930 $6.5k (exactly $6,501) Narrator Studio
Catechumen $9.99 16 87% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) N'Lightning Software Development, Jorda… (N'Lightning Software Development, Jordan Freeman Group)
BRUTUS MAXIMUS $4.99 31 64% 930 $4.6k (exactly $4,641) SuperStructureGames
Danger in Pompeii $4.99 23 100% 690 $3.4k (exactly $3,443) DNA Studios
Ludus: A Gladiator Story $8.99 11 9% 330 $3.0k (exactly $2,967) A Story Interactive

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