Games › Arcade › Arcade + Choose Your Own Adventure
Should I ship a Choose Your Own Adventure Arcade game?
Arcade + Choose Your Own Adventure
Of 79 developers who shipped a Choose Your Own Adventure Arcade 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.. 84 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $30k, ×65 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 84 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $148 (exactly $148) |
|---|---|
| Median | $538 (exactly $538) |
| Top 25% | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) |
| Top 5% | $31k (exactly $30,869) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 79 |
| Released games | 250 |
| Announced | 84 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Choose Your Own Adventure
- effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Arcade, Choose Your Own Adventure; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 1,650 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
Refind Self: The Personality Test Game 2023 · $861k 
ALTF4 2021 · $848k 
Corsairs Legacy - Pirate Action RPG & Sea Battles 2024 · EA · $656k 
Mayhem Brawler 2021 · $501k 
Corner Kitchen Fast Food Simulator 2025 · $172k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Refind Self: The Personality Test Game | older | $7.99 | 3,592 87% | 108k | $861k (exactly $861,002) | Lizardry |
| | ALTF4 | older | $2.99 | 9,452 80% | 284k | $848k (exactly $847,844) | PUMPKIM |
| | Corsairs Legacy - Pirate Action RPG & Sea Battles | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,094 74% | 33k | $656k (exactly $656,072) | Mauris, Tech-5 UG |
| | Mayhem Brawler | older | $19.99 | 836 89% | 25k | $501k (exactly $501,349) | Hero Concept |
| | Corner Kitchen Fast Food Simulator | $13.99 | 411 85% | 12k | $172k (exactly $172,497) | Purple Heads Games | |
 | Furry Love | older | $0.99 | 4,504 87% | 135k | $134k (exactly $133,769) | Red Six Development |
 | FEED THE AI | $5.99 | 557 90% | 17k | $100k (exactly $100,093) | Weird Kid Games | |
 | Hole Dweller | older | $7.99 | 260 96% | 7.8k | $62k (exactly $62,322) | Thigh High Games |
 | Mister Furry | older | $0.99 | 1,947 90% | 58k | $58k (exactly $57,826) | Red Six Development |
 | Andy's Apple Farm | · EA older | $2.99 | 639 89% | 19k | $57k (exactly $57,318) | M36 Games |
 | Egg Squeeze | $3.99 | 374 98% | 11k | $45k (exactly $44,768) | MATTER GAMES | |
 | Tech Store Simulator | $9.99 | 103 61% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $30,869) | Astrasoft | |
 | SPHERE ROLLER | $49.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $16k (exactly $16,497) | Gamesforgames | |
 | 1000 Deaths (Thousand Deaths) | $14.99 | 33 87% | 990 | $15k (exactly $14,840) | Pariah Interactive, Inc. | |
 | Don't Crash | $4.99 | 68 98% | 2.0k | $10k (exactly $10,180) | Override Studio | |
 | The Riese Project | · EA | $14.99 | 21 76% | 630 | $9.4k (exactly $9,444) | MasashigeDev |
 | Kitty Burger | $10.99 | 23 100% | 690 | $7.6k (exactly $7,583) | Kowal Games | |
 | Girls and Blocks | $4.99 | 49 75% | 1.5k | $7.3k (exactly $7,335) | SeDe Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.