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Should I ship a Procedural Generation Board Game?
Procedural Generation + Board Game
Of 69 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation Board 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.. 95 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×6.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×619 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 95 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.3k (exactly $3,293) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,041) |
| Top 5% | $294k (exactly $293,853) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 69 |
| Released games | 193 |
| Announced | 95 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 85% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Procedural Generation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Board Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Procedural Generation, Board Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelite, Puzzle
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 6,227 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 95 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Procedural Generation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SnowFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + DetectiveFair
- + Word GameFair
- + TypingFair
- + IdlerFair
- + LogicFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
Dorfromantik 2022 · $12M 
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes 2015 · $6.4M 
Mordheim: City of the Damned 2015 · $4.2M 
Niche - a genetics survival game 2017 · $2.4M 
Curious Expedition 2 2021 · $2.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dorfromantik | older | $13.99 | 27,441 96% | 823k | $12M (exactly $11,516,988) | Toukana Interactive |
| | Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes | older | $14.99 | 14,331 97% | 430k | $6.4M (exactly $6,444,651) | Steel Crate Games |
| | Mordheim: City of the Damned | older | $19.99 | 7,056 72% | 212k | $4.2M (exactly $4,231,483) | Rogue Factor |
| | Niche - a genetics survival game | older | $17.99 | 4,356 88% | 131k | $2.4M (exactly $2,350,933) | Stray Fawn Studio |
| | Curious Expedition 2 | older | $19.99 | 3,861 88% | 116k | $2.3M (exactly $2,315,442) | Maschinen-Mensch |
 | Terraformers | older | $19.99 | 3,031 88% | 91k | $1.8M (exactly $1,817,691) | Asteroid Lab |
 | Trials of Fire | older | $19.99 | 2,975 86% | 89k | $1.8M (exactly $1,784,107) | Whatboy Games |
 | Curious Expedition | older | $14.99 | 3,951 91% | 119k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,765) | Maschinen-Mensch |
 | Vault of the Void | older | $17.99 | 2,529 92% | 76k | $1.4M (exactly $1,364,901) | Spider Nest Games |
 | Drop Duchy | $14.99 | 2,962 89% | 89k | $1.3M (exactly $1,332,011) | Sleepy Mill Studio | |
 | Dice A Million | $12.99 | 1,075 90% | 32k | $419k (exactly $418,928) | countlessnights | |
 | Viractal: Will You Trust Your Party? | $24.99 | 448 88% | 13k | $336k (exactly $335,866) | Sting | |
 | Sandwalkers | $19.99 | 490 73% | 15k | $294k (exactly $293,853) | Goblinz Studio | |
 | Preserve | $12.49 | 690 92% | 21k | $259k (exactly $258,543) | Bitmap Galaxy | |
 | Underboard | $14.99 | 181 74% | 5.4k | $81k (exactly $81,396) | Headless | |
 | Zero Orders Tactics | $11.99 | 89 91% | 2.7k | $32k (exactly $32,013) | Pauloondra | |
 | ColdRidge | $9.99 | 97 73% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $29,071) | Frog Collective | |
 | Curtain Call | $6.99 | 134 85% | 4.0k | $28k (exactly $28,100) | 元气弹工作室(GD Studio) | |
 | Islantiles | $14.99 | 61 90% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $27,432) | Thunderrock Innovations |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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