Games › Arcade › Arcade + Match 3
Should I ship a Match 3 Arcade game?
Arcade + Match 3
Of 87 developers who shipped a Match 3 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.. 79 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 58 developers shipped in the last year and 79 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $60 (exactly $60) |
|---|---|
| Median | $269 (exactly $269) |
| Top 25% | $987 (exactly $987) |
| Top 5% | $21k (exactly $21,307) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 87 |
| Released games | 350 |
| Announced | 79 |
| 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 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Arcade, Match 3; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Action, Strategy
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 2,197 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $60. Nearly all of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 58 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
Lumines Arise 2025 · $1.0M 
Zuma Deluxe 2006 · $970k 
Bejeweled® 3 2010 · $913k 
Zuma's Revenge! 2009 · $471k 
Dogpile 2025 · $212k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Lumines Arise | $39.99 | 848 94% | 25k | $1.0M (exactly $1,017,346) | Enhance, Monstars Inc. | |
| | Zuma Deluxe | older | $4.99 | 6,481 95% | 194k | $970k (exactly $970,206) | PopCap Games, Inc. |
| | Bejeweled® 3 | older | $4.99 | 6,096 96% | 183k | $913k (exactly $912,571) | PopCap Games, Inc. |
| | Zuma's Revenge! | older | $4.99 | 3,149 94% | 94k | $471k (exactly $471,405) | PopCap Games, Inc. |
| | Dogpile | $9.99 | 708 95% | 21k | $212k (exactly $212,188) | Studio Folly, Toot Games, Foot | |
 | Tumblestone | older | $24.99 | 175 88% | 5.3k | $131k (exactly $131,198) | Ty Taylor, Spotted Zebra, Justin Nafzig… (Ty Taylor, Spotted Zebra, Justin Nafziger, Vega Castañeda) |
 | Hentai Asmodeus | older | $1.99 | 1,757 83% | 53k | $105k (exactly $104,893) | HEGA Studio |
 | Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine | older | $9.99 | 325 56% | 9.8k | $97k (exactly $97,402) | Headup |
 | NALOGI | older | $1.99 | 1,515 78% | 45k | $90k (exactly $90,446) | CUTE ANIME GIRLS |
 | Spooky Bonus | older | $9.99 | 290 96% | 8.7k | $87k (exactly $86,913) | Grey Alien Games |
 | Mythmatch | $19.99 | 124 98% | 3.7k | $74k (exactly $74,363) | Team Artichoke | |
 | PancitoMerge | $7.99 | 158 99% | 4.7k | $38k (exactly $37,873) | Fáyer, Sketchy Ceviche | |
 | sobosuba | $3.99 | 178 99% | 5.3k | $21k (exactly $21,307) | keepeetron | |
 | Super Farming Boy | · EA | $12.99 | 42 85% | 1.3k | $16k (exactly $16,367) | LemonChili Soft |
 | Writer's Block | $9.99 | 34 94% | 1.0k | $10k (exactly $10,190) | SinksAdventure | |
 | Slime Soup | $4.99 | 50 90% | 1.5k | $7.5k (exactly $7,485) | VANDERMAESEN GAMES | |
 | Times Trials | $11.99 | 20 100% | 600 | $7.2k (exactly $7,194) | Arc-Fy | |
 | Chowdown Kitty | $2.99 | 35 74% | 1.1k | $3.1k (exactly $3,140) | Lunar Peace |
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.