Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Vampires

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Vampire Arcade game?

Arcade + Vampires

Of 34 developers who shipped a Vampire 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.. 35 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $990. Revenue is up 135% on the market; 35 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 135% on the market, 35 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Vampires
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.9k → $3.9k → $5.2k → $3.7k → $1.2k → $1.9k → $19k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Vampires: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $987 (exactly $987)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,888)
Top 25% $6.7k (exactly $6,736)
Top 5% $254k (exactly $253,673)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 82
Announced 35
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 135% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Vampires
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Arcade; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 4,139 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $990, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $990. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Arcade with a different setting or mood, 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. + RomanceFair58 devs · median $1.8k · 49 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Vampire Survivors 2022 · $38M MELTY BLOOD: TYPE LUMINA 2021 · $14M Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code 2016 · $2.9M Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2018 · $1.1M Boneraiser Minions 2023 · $744k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Vampire Survivors older $4.99 251,686 98% 7.6M $38M (exactly $37,677,394) poncle
MELTY BLOOD: TYPE LUMINA older $49.99 9,130 88% 274k $14M (exactly $13,692,261) FRENCH-BREAD, TYPE-MOON, Lasengle Inc.,… (FRENCH-BREAD, TYPE-MOON, Lasengle Inc., TAMSOFT CORPORATION, GameLoop Inc.)
Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code older $24.99 3,819 93% 115k $2.9M (exactly $2,863,104) FRENCH-BREAD
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon older $9.99 3,823 94% 115k $1.1M (exactly $1,145,753) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
Boneraiser Minions older $4.99 4,967 96% 149k $744k (exactly $743,560) caiys
Rocket Rats $5.99 2,388 94% 72k $429k (exactly $429,124) Gagonfe
Goobies older $5.99 1,866 90% 56k $335k (exactly $335,320) Höganäs Spel
Legacy of Kain: Ascendance $19.99 423 27% 13k $254k (exactly $253,673) Bit Bot Media
NecroVision older $4.99 1,412 68% 42k $211k (exactly $211,376) The Farm 51
Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood older $4.99 748 77% 22k $112k (exactly $111,976) Mega Cat Studios
Internet Survivor Survivors $14.99 234 75% 7.0k $105k (exactly $105,230) ビートまりお / COOL&CREATE
Hordes of Hunger $14.99 230 72% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) Hyperstrange
Iron Core: Mech Survivor $6.99 352 73% 11k $74k (exactly $73,814) Soda Game Studio
Relic Dudes $4.99 264 87% 7.9k $40k (exactly $39,521) Achenar Studios, danilomacb
Bronana $4.99 129 68% 3.9k $19k (exactly $19,311) busy bear
VonGarland Castle : Beyond Blood $14.99 42 57% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Ash Jackson
Frogmageddon $4.99 45 91% 1.4k $6.7k (exactly $6,736) Frog Mage Udon, Sunset Dreamland
Bloodmoon Survivors $4.99 32 100% 960 $4.8k (exactly $4,790) Nicholas Evelson

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