Do I ship it?

GamesPvPPvP + Assassins

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Assassin PvP game?

PvP + Assassins

Only 10 developers shipped an Assassin PvP 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, Stealth Syndicate, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×8.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 8 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $270 against a market of $1.5k. 33 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 33 announced, ×8.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Assassins
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 10
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $23k → $958 → $269
Outcomes for PvP + Assassins: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $597 (exactly $597)
Top 5% $958 (exactly $958)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 46
Announced 33
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 140% on the market, supply 35% fewer 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.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
PvP
Price point
$3.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 8 games average 66% positive over 29 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $270, 1 in 4 over $590, 1 in 20 over $950.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×8.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Counter-Strike older $9.99 169,780 96% 5.1M $51M (exactly $50,883,066) Valve
DEATHLOOP older $59.99 19,910 76% 597k $36M (exactly $35,832,027) Arkane Studios
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts older $29.99 10,966 73% 329k $9.9M (exactly $9,866,110) CI Games
Deceive Inc. older $19.99 4,755 84% 143k $2.9M (exactly $2,851,574) Sweet Bandits Studios
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
Eville older $14.99 433 68% 13k $195k (exactly $194,720) VestGames
Lycans older $4.99 309 91% 9.3k $46k (exactly $46,257) Onu Games
SPECTRE · EA older $9.99 76 55% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) Symbiosis Games
Eruption 爆发 · EA older $4.99 26 84% 780 $3.9k (exactly $3,892) DBH
Band of Brigands older $11.99 9 88% 270 $3.2k (exactly $3,237) ProtoGames
Stealth Syndicate $3.99 8 100% 240 $958 (exactly $958) Vincent Lopes-Vicente
ShadowStrikeVR · EA $9.99 3 0% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Charming Game Studio
Kill Wilbo $1.99 10 100% 300 $597 (exactly $597) Void Chamber
SUSPECTO · EA $5.99 2 0% 60 $359 (exactly $359) YORQ Studios
Assassins Arena $2.99 3 0% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Nightshade Interactive
CARNEVALE: Blades in the Crowd $6.99 1 0% 30 $210 (exactly $210) Racc PG
King Assassination $2.99 1 0% 30 $90 (exactly $90) Softera Gaming
Murder&Spies $1.99 1 100% 30 $60 (exactly $60) navlikesbunnies
Who Killed · EA $2.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Red Ray Games
Broken Pact · EA $3.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Samuka Gomes

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