Do I ship it?

GamesSwordplaySwordplay + Archery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Archery Swordplay game?

Swordplay + Archery

Only 19 developers shipped an Archery Swordplay game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Grimlord, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 44 more are announced, ×7.3 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 $150; 1 in 20 cleared $830k, ×1328 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 44 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 44 announced, ×7.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Swordplay + Archery
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $597 → $809 → $3.3k → $14k → $3.6k → $0 → $809 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Swordplay + Archery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $6.5k (exactly $6,475)
Top 5% $834k (exactly $834,022)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 73
Announced 44
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 85% on the market, supply 55% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Swordplay
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
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
Swordplay, Archery; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Base Building, Hack and Slash
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,086 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $810, 1 in 4 over $6.4k, 1 in 20 over $830k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Visual NovelFair13 devs · median $5.7k · 10 announced
  2. + Strategy RPGFair22 devs · median $2.7k · 28 announced
  3. + IdlerFair9 devs · median $2.7k · 4 announced
  4. + Auto BattlerFair13 devs · median $1.1k · 8 announced
  5. + DeckbuildingFair11 devs · median $599 · 13 announced
  6. + Shoot 'Em UpLong shot13 devs · median $300 · 5 announced
  7. + SamuraiPoor odds12 devs · median $80k · 21 announced
  8. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $14k · 22 announced
  9. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds39 devs · median $13k · 79 announced
  10. + FightingPoor odds13 devs · median $13k · 33 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds19 devs · median $12k · 53 announced
  12. + Base BuildingPoor odds12 devs · median $9.0k · 26 announced

All 115 pairs on the Swordplay page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
Grimlord $29.99 927 78% 28k $834k (exactly $834,022) Metalcat Interactive Co.,Ltd
Shady Knight $19.99 898 93% 27k $539k (exactly $538,531) Alexey 'cptnsigh'
The Vale: Shadow of the Crown older $19.99 326 97% 9.8k $196k (exactly $195,502) Falling Squirrel, Creative Bytes Studios
Korea Dynasty (조선메타실록) · EA older $23.99 267 72% 8.0k $192k (exactly $192,160) Happy Daram Inc.
Epic Fantasy Battle Simulator · EA older $9.99 426 84% 13k $128k (exactly $127,672) Mutiny Software
Eden Island older $14.99 232 58% 7.0k $104k (exactly $104,330) Moon Studio
The End of Dyeus older $14.99 181 88% 5.4k $81k (exactly $81,396) Curious Planet
Winter Ember older $29.99 82 58% 2.5k $74k (exactly $73,775) Sky Machine Studios
The Last King · EA $14.99 122 79% 3.7k $55k (exactly $54,863) Mayawi software
Robin Hood: Sherwood Defenders $11.99 25 44% 750 $9.0k (exactly $8,992) MeanAstronauts
Journey of the Garden Rose $11.99 18 77% 540 $6.5k (exactly $6,475) Renegade Sector Games
传说之始 $3.99 46 71% 1.4k $5.5k (exactly $5,506) 水月suigetsu
Smerch Battle Arena · EA $9.99 12 91% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Smerch Games
the Shadow of Swallow $3.99 30 76% 900 $3.6k (exactly $3,591) Raine Studio
The Deepwoods $5.99 5 80% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Whiteleopard Studios
Dungeon-Bot $8.99 3 100% 90 $809 (exactly $809) XREALL

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