Do I ship it?

GamesSouls-likeSouls-like + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Souls-like?

Souls-like + Artificial Intelligence

Only 13 developers shipped an AI Souls-like 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, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 17 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $22k, ×14 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 22805% on the market; 17 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 22805% on the market, 17 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Souls-like + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $22k (exactly $21,586)
Top 25% $839k (exactly $839,233)
Top 5% $272M (exactly $272,446,000)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 35
Announced 17
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 22805% on the market, supply 125% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Story Rich, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 332,780 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $22k, 1 in 4 over $830k, 1 in 20 over $270M.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 17 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  5. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  7. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  8. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  9. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  10. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  11. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced
  12. + RobotsPoor odds12 devs · median $32k · 19 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 $49.99 181,667 95% 5.5M $272M (exactly $272,446,000) Sandfall Interactive
Crimson Desert Enhanced $69.99 115,056 83% 3.5M $242M (exactly $241,583,083) Pearl Abyss
PRAGMATA $59.99 32,885 96% 987k $59M (exactly $59,183,134) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Morbid Metal · EA $17.99 1,555 81% 47k $839k (exactly $839,233) SCREEN JUICE
Escape from Yandere $4.99 1,335 75% 40k $200k (exactly $199,850) VorhGames
Dark Dominion $14.99 170 72% 5.1k $76k (exactly $76,449) ZERO5GAMES
Dark Farts: Parody Smell Edition $14.99 48 81% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) Violarte
Silan: Monster Girl Master! $8.99 60 95% 1.8k $16k (exactly $16,182) 愛の勇者
История бомжа older $4.99 52 67% 1.6k $7.8k (exactly $7,784) Quarlellle
Super Robolom older $24.99 8 75% 240 $6.0k (exactly $5,998) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
Resonant Blade $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Wise Wombat Games
Aeonic $4.99 2 50% 60 $299 (exactly $299) dev

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