Do I ship it?

GamesLogicLogic + Alternate History

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alternate-History Logic game?

Logic + Alternate History

Of 24 developers who shipped an Alternate-History Logic 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.. 51 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×160 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 51 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 51 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Logic + Alternate History
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $21k → $1.5k → $1.7k → $3.6k → $11k → $449 → $3.0k (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Logic + Alternate History: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,348)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,193)
Top 5% $101k (exactly $100,543)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 96
Announced 51
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 90% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Logic
effort 2 / 10 · high · deductive rules and grids
Alternate History
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
Logic; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Hidden Object
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 14,004 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 $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Logic with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LovecraftianFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 19 announced
  2. + City BuilderFair58 devs · median $3.3k · 74 announced
  3. + NoirFair42 devs · median $2.7k · 59 announced
  4. + HackingFair60 devs · median $2.5k · 67 announced
  5. + VampiresFair12 devs · median $2.4k · 14 announced
  6. + DragonsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 8 announced
  7. + Escape RoomFair54 devs · median $2.1k · 44 announced
  8. + Bullet TimeFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  9. + Inventory ManagementFair70 devs · median $1.7k · 74 announced
  10. + TransportationFair29 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  11. + Automobile SimFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  12. + CookingFair27 devs · median $1.6k · 26 announced

All 200 pairs on the Logic page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
XCOM® 2 older $19.99 79,998 84% 2.4M $48M (exactly $47,974,801) Firaxis Games, Feral Interactive (Mac),… (Firaxis Games, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator $19.99 13,278 97% 398k $8.0M (exactly $7,962,817) Nick Nieuwoudt, Dominik Latos
Mars Horizon older $19.99 2,757 84% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,653,373) Auroch Digital
Europa Universalis III Complete older $14.99 1,372 85% 41k $617k (exactly $616,988) Paradox Development Studio
The Last FARMER $12.99 258 56% 7.7k $101k (exactly $100,543) Geekon
Between Time: Escape Room older $9.99 326 80% 9.8k $98k (exactly $97,702) mc2games
macdows 95 older $4.99 520 92% 16k $78k (exactly $77,844) Yunus Ayyildiz
Pyramids and Aliens: Escape Room $12.99 191 81% 5.7k $74k (exactly $74,433) mc2games
봄이 오면 꽃이 피고 · EA older $34.99 66 93% 2.0k $69k (exactly $69,280) TeamOGM
Rauniot older $14.99 130 86% 3.9k $58k (exactly $58,461) Act Normal Games
Take Notes $6.99 93 96% 2.8k $20k (exactly $19,502) Stoneware Game Studio
烧尾宴 $8.99 52 75% 1.6k $14k (exactly $14,024) 有点正经
Venice After Dark $19.99 22 90% 660 $13k (exactly $13,193) Sebastian Grünwald, Weltenwandler Desig… (Sebastian Grünwald, Weltenwandler Designagentur GmbH)
Signal Maze $14.99 24 95% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) theArkitect
QuantumPulse 2A $11.99 30 93% 900 $11k (exactly $10,791) Dashing Strike
Nova Patria $11.99 22 100% 660 $7.9k (exactly $7,913) Sower Interactive
Drowned God: Conspiracy of the Ages. $6.99 34 70% 1.0k $7.1k (exactly $7,130) Next Path Media, FSTR

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