Games › Arcade › Arcade + Noir
Should I ship a Noir Arcade game?
Arcade + Noir
Of 38 developers who shipped a Noir 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.. 60 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×606 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 60 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $598 (exactly $598) |
| Top 25% | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) |
| Top 5% | $288k (exactly $287,904) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 123 |
| Announced | 60 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 80% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Top-Down Shooter
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 1980s, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 8,600 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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
Skullgirls 2nd Encore 2013 · $17M 
The Precinct 2025 · $7.1M 
Race The Sun 2013 · $592k 
Fashion Police Squad 2022 · $523k 
Splatter - Zombiecalypse Now 2014 · $440k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Skullgirls 2nd Encore | older | $24.99 | 23,071 88% | 692k | $17M (exactly $17,296,329) | Hidden Variable Studios |
| | The Precinct | $29.99 | 7,837 87% | 235k | $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) | Fallen Tree Games Ltd | |
| | Race The Sun | older | $9.99 | 1,974 93% | 59k | $592k (exactly $591,608) | Flippfly LLC |
| | Fashion Police Squad | older | $19.99 | 872 90% | 26k | $523k (exactly $522,938) | Mopeful Games |
| | Splatter - Zombiecalypse Now | older | $6.99 | 2,098 89% | 63k | $440k (exactly $439,951) | Dreamworlds |
 | Deliver At All Costs | $29.99 | 320 73% | 9.6k | $288k (exactly $287,904) | Studio Far Out Games | |
 | Hellbreach: Vegas | older | $14.99 | 504 74% | 15k | $227k (exactly $226,649) | Infinity Ape Studios |
 | TTV2 | older | $4.99 | 1,487 86% | 45k | $223k (exactly $222,604) | Walter Machado |
 | 7th Sector | older | $10.99 | 643 72% | 19k | $212k (exactly $211,997) | Носков Сергей |
 | Arrest of a stone Buddha | older | $14.99 | 400 69% | 12k | $180k (exactly $179,880) | yeo |
 | Kusan: City of Wolves | $14.99 | 295 89% | 8.9k | $133k (exactly $132,662) | CIRCLEfromDOT | |
 | DeTechtive 2112 | $10.99 | 60 46% | 1.8k | $20k (exactly $19,782) | M11 Studio | |
 | Outbreak: Shades of Horror Chromatic Split | $24.99 | 24 50% | 720 | $18k (exactly $17,993) | Dead Drop Studios LLC | |
 | Bullet Noir | $11.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) | WOLCEN Studio | |
 | Street Cleaner 3 | $15.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $3.8k (exactly $3,838) | Creaky Lantern Games | |
 | Just One More Link | $6.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $3.8k (exactly $3,775) | Blagine | |
 | Pinball with a Gun | $7.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $2.6k (exactly $2,637) | Tigpan, PoggieB | |
 | Neon Highways | $5.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | Flowbit Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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