Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Typing

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Typing Arcade game?

Arcade + Typing

Of 74 developers who shipped a Typing 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.. 74 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 51 developers shipped in the last year and 74 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 74 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Typing
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $599 → $148 → $150 → $299 → $449 → $390 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Typing: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.4k (exactly $1,386)
Top 5% $75k (exactly $74,892)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 161
Announced 74
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 up 140% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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
Typing
effort 1 / 10 · high · keyboard input against a word list

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Arcade, Typing; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Score Attack
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing, Stylized
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 5,315 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $74k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. 9 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Arcade with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Typing of The Dead: Overkill 2013 · $1.7M Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2013 · $1.4M Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! 2020 · $1.1M Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!! 2017 · $959k Slash It 2016 · $920k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Typing of The Dead: Overkill older $19.99 2,782 87% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,668,365) Modern Dream
Cook, Serve, Delicious! older $12.99 3,713 95% 111k $1.4M (exactly $1,446,956) Vertigo Gaming Inc.
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! older $19.99 1,768 93% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,060,270) Vertigo Gaming Inc.
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!! older $14.99 2,133 90% 64k $959k (exactly $959,210) Vertigo Gaming Inc.
Slash It older $39.99 767 88% 23k $920k (exactly $920,170) EGAMER
The Chef's Shift $12.99 1,948 97% 58k $759k (exactly $759,136) Panitia GameDev
Glyphica: Typing Survival · EA $9.99 2,488 90% 75k $746k (exactly $745,654) aliasBLACK
Progressbar95 older $4.99 3,473 96% 104k $520k (exactly $519,908) Igor Uduslivii
IT Specialist Simulator · EA $13.99 433 74% 13k $182k (exactly $181,730) Pixel Team RED
You Can Kana - Learn Japanese Hiragana & Katakana older $9.99 281 98% 8.4k $84k (exactly $84,216) James Moulang
PROJEKT GODHAND $15.80 158 96% 4.7k $75k (exactly $74,892) Anarch Entertainment
Typing Break $8.99 96 80% 2.9k $26k (exactly $25,891) Tholus
Writer's Block $9.99 34 94% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) SinksAdventure
Many Mini Typing Games $5.99 46 97% 1.4k $8.3k (exactly $8,266) GirambQuamb
Kinetype · EA $6.99 36 83% 1.1k $7.5k (exactly $7,549) Morlytic
Keys of Fury: Typing Action $4.99 42 97% 1.3k $6.3k (exactly $6,287) Elecorn
Keyboard Warrior $4.99 34 97% 1.0k $5.1k (exactly $5,090) Grouch, SuitNtie

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.