Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Snow

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Snow Adventure game?

Adventure + Snow

Of 88 developers who shipped a Snow 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.. 140 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×614 the market median. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 140 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 140 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Snow
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 88
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $628 → $1.5k → $4.1k → $1.3k → $1.4k → $898 → $1.2k (still earning) → $5.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Snow: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 88
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $6.7k (exactly $6,742)
Top 5% $291k (exactly $291,454)
Developers, 2 yr 88
Released games 241
Announced 140
Effort 4 / 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 125% on the market, supply 30% more 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
Snow
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Survival, Crafting
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 9,574 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 140 games are announced against 50 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
SnowRunner older $29.99 46,343 90% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,694,797) Saber Interactive
Steep™ older $29.99 30,589 82% 918k $28M (exactly $27,520,923) Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ub… (Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Kiev)
Project Winter older $9.99 13,662 84% 410k $4.1M (exactly $4,094,501) Other Ocean Interactive
LOST PLANET® 3 older $24.99 2,008 64% 60k $1.5M (exactly $1,505,398) Spark Unlimited
Röki older $19.99 2,452 89% 74k $1.5M (exactly $1,470,464) Polygon Treehouse
Kona older $14.99 2,795 82% 84k $1.3M (exactly $1,256,912) Parabole
The Pale Beyond older $19.99 1,858 90% 56k $1.1M (exactly $1,114,243) Saltstone Studios
Chasing Tails ~A Promise in the Snow~ older $7.99 4,272 92% 128k $1.0M (exactly $1,023,998) the last evil wizard, Nupu Neko Dev
Fade to Silence older $29.99 1,032 62% 31k $928k (exactly $928,490) Black Forest Games
Lost Planet™: Extreme Condition older $14.99 1,878 80% 56k $845k (exactly $844,537) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Lushfoil Photography Sim $14.99 1,718 91% 52k $773k (exactly $772,585) Matt2
Sledding Game · EA $7.99 2,915 96% 87k $699k (exactly $698,726) The Sledding Corporation
OxyRail · EA $14.99 949 80% 28k $427k (exactly $426,765) OxygenTech Limited
Meltopia $6.99 1,679 85% 50k $352k (exactly $352,086) Garden of Dreams
Moomintroll: Winter's Warmth $19.99 486 97% 15k $291k (exactly $291,454) Hyper Games
Another Try 2 · EA $6.99 1,000 53% 30k $210k (exactly $209,700) Hoki Wolf Studio
Frozen Ship · EA $19.99 142 76% 4.3k $85k (exactly $85,157) Nionetix
The Pale Mimic $7.99 345 86% 10k $83k (exactly $82,696) Dark Snow Games
Ballex²: The Hanging Gardens $14.99 179 95% 5.4k $80k (exactly $80,496) Mushreb Games
Frost Survival VR $14.99 161 89% 4.8k $72k (exactly $72,402) Wenkly Studio Sp. z o.o.

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