Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Western

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Western Adventure game?

Adventure + Western

Of 72 developers who shipped a Western 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.. 120 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, ×4.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×405 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 120 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 120 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Western
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 72
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $1.5k → $1.3k → $8.4k → $3.1k → $2.5k → $5.5k (still earning) → $1.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Western: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 72
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,992)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,630)
Top 5% $254k (exactly $254,273)
Developers, 2 yr 72
Released games 258
Announced 120
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 down 55% on the market, supply 50% 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
Western
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $21.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $21.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 24,337 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 9 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 120 games are announced against 43 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
Red Dead Redemption 2 older $59.99 846,270 92% 25M $1.5B (exactly $1,523,032,119) Rockstar Games
Fallout: New Vegas older $9.99 211,748 95% 6.4M $63M (exactly $63,460,876) Obsidian Entertainment
Red Dead Online older $19.99 59,572 82% 1.8M $36M (exactly $35,725,328) Rockstar Games
Red Dead Redemption $49.99 20,294 92% 609k $30M (exactly $30,434,912) Rockstar Games, Double Eleven
Evil West older $49.99 10,215 74% 306k $15M (exactly $15,319,436) Flying Wild Hog
Desperados III older $39.99 11,880 96% 356k $14M (exactly $14,252,436) Mimimi Games
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger older $14.99 20,869 94% 626k $9.4M (exactly $9,384,789) Techland
Weird West: Definitive Edition older $39.99 3,962 77% 119k $4.8M (exactly $4,753,211) WolfEye Studios
SteamWorld Dig 2 older $19.99 5,700 95% 171k $3.4M (exactly $3,418,290) Image & Form Games
Outlaws of the Old West · EA older $19.99 5,584 58% 168k $3.3M (exactly $3,348,725) Virtual Basement LLC
Mohrta $19.99 1,482 91% 44k $889k (exactly $888,755) Scumhead, Osiol
Alaska Gold Fever $16.99 959 79% 29k $489k (exactly $488,802) Baked Games
Wild Indigo Ranch $19.99 424 68% 13k $254k (exactly $254,273) Funday Games
Rosewater $19.99 348 91% 10k $209k (exactly $208,696) Grundislav Games
Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster $29.99 230 93% 6.9k $207k (exactly $206,931) LucasArts, Nightdive Studios
Bounty Star $24.99 159 65% 4.8k $119k (exactly $119,202) DINOGOD
Dino Path Trail $14.99 197 76% 5.9k $89k (exactly $88,591) Void Pointer
Western Rye · EA $21.99 104 53% 3.1k $69k (exactly $68,609) Nixalon Studios
WANTED: Wild Sluts 🔞 $14.99 140 68% 4.2k $63k (exactly $62,958) Lewd Star

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