Games › Arcade › Arcade + Crime
Should I ship a Crime Arcade game?
Arcade + Crime
Of 42 developers who shipped a Crime 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.. 80 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×3.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×714 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 80 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $11,642) |
| Top 5% | $449k (exactly $448,651) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 118 |
| Announced | 80 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Arcade; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Simulation, Management
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 14,617 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 6 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
Sifu 2023 · $26M 
Need for Speed™ Most Wanted 2020 · $15M 
The Precinct 2025 · $7.1M 
The Chef's Shift 2025 · $759k 
Serial Cleaner 2017 · $612k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sifu | older | $39.99 | 21,620 92% | 649k | $26M (exactly $25,937,514) | Sloclap |
| | Need for Speed™ Most Wanted | older | $19.99 | 25,197 77% | 756k | $15M (exactly $15,110,641) | Criterion Games |
| | The Precinct | $29.99 | 7,837 87% | 235k | $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) | Fallen Tree Games Ltd | |
| | The Chef's Shift | $12.99 | 1,948 97% | 58k | $759k (exactly $759,136) | Panitia GameDev | |
| | Serial Cleaner | older | $14.99 | 1,361 84% | 41k | $612k (exactly $612,042) | Draw Distance |
 | Karate Survivor | $4.99 | 2,997 85% | 90k | $449k (exactly $448,651) | Alawar | |
 | Supernatural | older | $8.99 | 1,180 63% | 35k | $318k (exactly $318,246) | Hitori De Productions |
 | Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator | $19.99 | 513 91% | 15k | $308k (exactly $307,646) | Strange Scaffold | |
 | Deliver At All Costs | $29.99 | 320 73% | 9.6k | $288k (exactly $287,904) | Studio Far Out Games | |
 | Arrest of a stone Buddha | older | $14.99 | 400 69% | 12k | $180k (exactly $179,880) | yeo |
 | Crime Shop Simulator: A Prison Boss Game | $19.99 | 157 85% | 4.7k | $94k (exactly $94,153) | TREBUCHET | |
 | Monaco 2 | $14.99 | 156 63% | 4.7k | $70k (exactly $70,153) | Pocketwatch Games | |
 | BEHEMOTH | $3.99 | 412 88% | 12k | $49k (exactly $49,316) | The Behemoth | |
 | Kraken City | $4.99 | 189 67% | 5.7k | $28k (exactly $28,293) | nStarcube | |
 | Blueblood Arena | · EA | $8.99 | 88 96% | 2.6k | $24k (exactly $23,734) | Team Blueblood |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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