Do I ship it?

GamesPerma DeathPerma Death + Alternate History

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alternate-History Perma Death game?

Perma Death + Alternate History

Only 13 developers shipped an Alternate-History Perma Death game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Hell Clock, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 35 more are announced, ×8.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.2k against a market of $630. 35 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 1305% on the market, 35 announced, ×8.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Perma Death + Alternate History
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $297 → $1.2k → $120 → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Perma Death + Alternate History: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,206)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,581)
Top 5% $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 39
Announced 35
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 1305% on the market, supply 55% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Perma Death
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
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
Perma Death
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 3,817 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $2.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×8.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + LGBTQ+Strong odds15 devs · median $55k · 7 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair49 devs · median $10k · 57 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair65 devs · median $8.1k · 66 announced
  4. + Creature CollectorFair30 devs · median $5.3k · 33 announced
  5. + Mystery DungeonFair27 devs · median $2.7k · 29 announced
  6. + PiratesFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 14 announced
  7. + Traditional RoguelikeFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 55 announced
  8. + Interactive FictionFair27 devs · median $959 · 28 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair46 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  10. + Time ManagementFair49 devs · median $539 · 66 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair21 devs · median $538 · 18 announced
  12. + 3D PlatformerFair36 devs · median $537 · 36 announced

All 164 pairs on the Perma Death 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))
Marauders · EA older $29.99 13,505 68% 405k $12M (exactly $12,150,448) Small Impact Games
Hell Clock $19.99 3,535 82% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) Rogue Snail
Broken Lines older $24.99 604 76% 18k $453k (exactly $452,819) BirdIsland/PortaPlay
Super 3-D Noah's Ark older $9.99 518 92% 16k $155k (exactly $155,245) Wisdom Tree, Inc.
Black Legend older $19.99 172 62% 5.2k $103k (exactly $103,148) Warcave
Lost:Antinomy older $2.99 1,042 88% 31k $93k (exactly $93,467) IMaiIna
FEAR OF FAITH · EA $9.99 117 78% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) UNBREAKABLE ARK
I Shall Remain older $9.99 99 66% 3.0k $30k (exactly $29,670) Scorpius Games
Long Live Caesar $9.99 51 78% 1.5k $15k (exactly $15,285) Yury Khovansky, Vladislavs Viktorovs
Italian Brainrot: In Prison $4.99 64 81% 1.9k $9.6k (exactly $9,581) ShLeks, Hero
Millennium Strategy $14.99 21 85% 630 $9.4k (exactly $9,444) MiMo Games
Three Sisters · EA $5.99 10 90% 300 $1.8k (exactly $1,797) CFG Studios
201 - The Bad Number $4.02 10 80% 300 $1.2k (exactly $1,206) Pavel Kopylov
Echoes of the Abyss $4.99 7 85% 210 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) RK GAMES
Struggle $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Galactic Lake
BIORAGE $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) Phantomahawk

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