Do I ship it?

GamesPuzzlePuzzle + Assassins

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Assassin Puzzle game?

Puzzle + Assassins

Of 35 developers who shipped an Assassin Puzzle 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.. 48 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240. 48 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper, while revenue is up 95% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 48 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle + Assassins
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $3.9k → $2.9k → $597 → $3.5k → $809 (still earning) → $653 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle + Assassins: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $5.7k (exactly $5,694)
Top 5% $48k (exactly $48,252)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 107
Announced 48
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.00

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 95% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
Assassins
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Puzzle; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.00 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 7,975 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $600, 1 in 4 over $5.6k, 1 in 20 over $48k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorFair57 devs · median $8.2k · 53 announced
  2. + Medical SimFair17 devs · median $6.1k · 27 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair40 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair161 devs · median $1.8k · 150 announced
  5. + VampiresFair46 devs · median $1.7k · 37 announced
  6. + CatsFair281 devs · median $1.2k · 334 announced
  7. + DemonsFair233 devs · median $1.2k · 248 announced
  8. + God GameFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  9. + RomanceFair209 devs · median $1.0k · 251 announced
  10. + AutomationFair135 devs · median $1.0k · 164 announced
  11. + Tower DefenseFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 67 announced
  12. + LemmingsFair13 devs · median $959 · 11 announced

All 246 pairs on the Puzzle page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HITMAN World of Assassination older $29.99 58,655 87% 1.8M $53M (exactly $52,771,904) IO Interactive A/S
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun older $39.99 30,845 96% 925k $37M (exactly $37,004,746) Mimimi Games
Assassin’s Creed® Rogue older $19.99 21,310 86% 639k $13M (exactly $12,779,607) Ubisoft Sofia, Ubisoft Kiev
The Killing Antidote · EA $29.99 7,512 88% 225k $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) MetalStar Studio
Hitman: Blood Money older $9.99 13,642 93% 409k $4.1M (exactly $4,088,507) Io-Interactive A/S
Mark of the Ninja: Remastered older $19.99 6,584 95% 198k $3.9M (exactly $3,948,425) Klei Entertainment
Shadow Tactics: Aiko's Choice older $19.99 3,965 93% 119k $2.4M (exactly $2,377,810) Mimimi Games
Children of the Sun older $14.99 2,005 92% 60k $902k (exactly $901,648) René Rother
Hitman: Contracts older $8.99 3,094 86% 93k $834k (exactly $834,452) Io-Interactive A/S
Death Coming/死神来了 older $6.99 3,043 89% 91k $638k (exactly $638,117) NEXT Studios
The Lacerator $9.99 161 99% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) Games From The Abyss
DETECTIVE - Rainy night $10.99 80 70% 2.4k $26k (exactly $26,376) k148 Game Studio
Dark Atlas: Infernum $14.99 39 82% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,538) Night Council Studio
烧尾宴 $8.99 52 75% 1.6k $14k (exactly $14,024) 有点正经
Toastercide $9.99 28 100% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) The Chairman
Midnight Saturn $9.99 28 82% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) Cosmic Void
CrimeBot 2: Detective Mystery Games $7.99 24 50% 720 $5.8k (exactly $5,753) RoboBot Studio
Project Chameleon $9.99 19 100% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Anonymous King
Outbreak Zombie Plague $3.99 32 34% 960 $3.8k (exactly $3,830) Aurora Studios

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