Do I ship it?

Games › PvE › PvE + Archery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Archery game?

PvE + Archery

Of 22 developers who shipped a PvE Archery 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, ×7.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $810, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $8.9k, ×14 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 60 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 60 announced, ×7.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Archery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $809 → $1.6k → $599 → $898 → $898 → $0 (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Archery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $3.2k (exactly $3,229)
Top 5% $9.0k (exactly $8,992)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 76
Announced 60
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 80% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
Archery
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE, Archery; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 257 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $810, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $8.9k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Karnage Chronicles 2020 · $892k Korea Dynasty (조선메타실록) 2023 · EA · $192k The End of Dyeus 2021 · $81k INCARNA: R•AI•D 2021 · $11k Swamp Keeper 2025 · $9.8k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Karnage Chronicles older $24.99 1,190 85% 36k $892k (exactly $892,143) Nordic Trolls
Korea Dynasty (조선메타실록) · EA older $23.99 267 72% 8.0k $192k (exactly $192,160) Happy Daram Inc.
The End of Dyeus older $14.99 181 88% 5.4k $81k (exactly $81,396) Curious Planet
INCARNA: R•AI•D older $19.99 18 77% 540 $11k (exactly $10,795) Incarna Studios
Swamp Keeper $3.99 82 96% 2.5k $9.8k (exactly $9,815) Maetdol Games
Hunting Unlimited 1 older $9.99 32 81% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) SCS Software
Robin Hood: Sherwood Defenders $11.99 25 44% 750 $9.0k (exactly $8,992) MeanAstronauts
Goblin Attack $3.99 73 76% 2.2k $8.7k (exactly $8,738) BODOS
Crystal Raiders VR older $14.90 17 64% 510 $7.6k (exactly $7,599) "Nieko"
Behold Battle older $3.99 58 82% 1.7k $6.9k (exactly $6,943) Lasse Zacho Malver
Ashen Arrows $17.99 10 90% 300 $5.4k (exactly $5,397) Rusty Pipes Games
Smerch Battle Arena · EA $9.99 12 91% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Smerch Games
Tales of Isenberg $2.99 36 100% 1.1k $3.2k (exactly $3,229) Madarász András, Varga David
Forsaken Shores · EA $9.99 5 80% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) Kuldan Studio
The Deepwoods $5.99 5 80% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Whiteleopard Studios
Shiny Stones $4.99 6 100% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Verbal Chambers
Arrow Dungeon $8.99 3 33% 90 $809 (exactly $809) ParkDol

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