Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Western

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Western Arcade game?

Arcade + Western

Of 36 developers who shipped a Western 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.. 32 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $210 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 21 developers shipped in the last year and 32 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 32 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Western
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $54k → $450 → $269 → $299 → $1.4k → $120 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Western: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $208 (exactly $208)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Top 5% $22k (exactly $22,189)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 112
Announced 32
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.

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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
Western
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Score Attack, Shooter
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $8.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 530 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $210, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $22k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 21 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. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger 2013 · $9.4M 12 is Better Than 6 2015 · $1.3M Bud Spencer & Terence Hill - Slaps And Beans 2018 · $774k Bounty of One 2023 · $576k Kill The Crows 2023 · $426k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger older $14.99 20,869 94% 626k $9.4M (exactly $9,384,789) Techland
12 is Better Than 6 older $9.99 4,348 83% 130k $1.3M (exactly $1,303,096) Ink Stains Games
Bud Spencer & Terence Hill - Slaps And Beans older $14.99 1,722 91% 52k $774k (exactly $774,383) Trinity Team
Bounty of One older $6.99 2,749 88% 82k $576k (exactly $576,465) OptizOnion
Kill The Crows older $4.99 2,848 95% 85k $426k (exactly $426,346) 5minlab Corp.
Wild Guns Reloaded older $14.99 435 88% 13k $196k (exactly $195,620) NatsumeAtari
Bloodroots older $19.99 230 89% 6.9k $138k (exactly $137,931) Paper Cult
Mad Bullets older $14.99 266 92% 8.0k $120k (exactly $119,620) isTom Games Kft.
Cowbots and Aliens older $19.99 90 82% 2.7k $54k (exactly $53,973) Wizard Games Inc, Chicken Waffle
Gold Miner:Classic Edition $3.99 350 82% 11k $42k (exactly $41,895) GameRival
Racket Pinball $19.99 37 91% 1.1k $22k (exactly $22,189) NiVision
Wild West : The Last Cowboy $8.99 69 100% 2.1k $19k (exactly $18,609) DMONG Co., Ltd.
DEMONOLITION $9.99 9 77% 270 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) HEX512
Cheminots $4.99 16 87% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Weasel Sailor
Dracs After Dusk $3.99 14 100% 420 $1.7k (exactly $1,676) OliveHillStudios
Polar Star $2.99 17 94% 510 $1.5k (exactly $1,525) Violett
Golfslinger $7.99 6 100% 180 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Chaos Cactus
Ricochet Rodeo $4.99 9 88% 270 $1.3k (exactly $1,347) Echidna Studios
Revolvermen $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Oskar Wetterbrandt

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