Should I ship an Arcade Golf game?
Golf + Arcade
Of 40 developers who shipped an Arcade Golf 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.. 46 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 46 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $270 (exactly $270) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $2.9k (exactly $2,876) |
| Top 5% | $40k (exactly $40,486) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 110 |
| Announced | 46 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 up 140% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Golf, Arcade; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sports, Physics, Mini Golf
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Family Friendly, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 705 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. All of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Golf with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SimulationFair
- + PvPFair
- + AdventureFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + PhysicsFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + Local MultiplayerPoor odds
- + ExplorationPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Mini GolfPoor odds
- + SportsPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | All-In-One Sports VR | older | $19.99 | 700 84% | 21k | $420k (exactly $419,790) | Appnori Inc. |
| | Cursed to Golf | older | $19.99 | 693 70% | 21k | $416k (exactly $415,592) | Chuhai Labs |
| | Disc Golf Masters | · EA | $24.99 | 427 83% | 13k | $320k (exactly $320,122) | Spinoff Games |
| | Golf Gang | older | $9.99 | 782 84% | 23k | $234k (exactly $234,365) | Lazy Monday Games |
| | Turbo Golf Racing | older | $9.99 | 635 85% | 19k | $190k (exactly $190,310) | Hugecalf Studios |
| | Worms Crazy Golf | older | $9.99 | 407 82% | 12k | $122k (exactly $121,978) | Team17 Digital Ltd |
| | Super Video Golf | older | $9.99 | 342 96% | 10k | $102k (exactly $102,497) | Trederia |
| | Infinite Minigolf | older | $14.99 | 113 72% | 3.4k | $51k (exactly $50,816) | Zen Studios |
| | Multiplayer Platform Golf | older | $4.99 | 293 89% | 8.8k | $44k (exactly $43,862) | Robot Assembly |
| | Golden Tee Arcade Classics | $29.99 | 45 86% | 1.4k | $40k (exactly $40,486) | Digital Eclipse | |
| | Super 10 Pin | $11.99 | 92 98% | 2.8k | $33k (exactly $33,092) | Modus Interactive | |
| | Up to Par | $19.99 | 49 73% | 1.5k | $29k (exactly $29,385) | It's Anecdotal | |
| | Grass Gnome Golf | $6.99 | 23 91% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | Grass Gnome Games | |
| | Tilt It! Golf | $4.99 | 24 87% | 720 | $3.6k (exactly $3,593) | Kautki Cave | |
| | Putt in Parks | $7.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $3.1k (exactly $3,116) | tinyaxe | |
| | Mulligans Golf Game | · EA | $12.49 | 8 100% | 240 | $3.0k (exactly $2,998) | Indie Andy Games |
| | Disc Golf City | $7.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $2.9k (exactly $2,876) | Agapo Games | |
| | Golf Around 2 | $7.99 | 12 41% | 360 | $2.9k (exactly $2,876) | Hough Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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