Do I ship it?

GamesCharacter CustomizationCharacter Customization + Dragons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dragon Character Customization game?

Character Customization + Dragons

Of 48 developers who shipped a Dragon Character Customization 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.. 81 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $560k, ×901 the market median. Revenue is up 710% on the market; 81 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 710% on the market, 81 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Customization + Dragons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 48
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $43k → $27k → $958 → $1.3k → $2.7k → $6.5k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Customization + Dragons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 48
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,157)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $12,230)
Top 5% $566k (exactly $565,911)
Developers, 2 yr 48
Released games 147
Announced 81
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 up 710% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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.

Character Customization
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Dragons
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Character Customization; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Strategy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 55% positive over 250,821 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $560k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Football (American)Strong odds14 devs · median $3.6k · 12 announced
  2. + Real-TimeStrong odds7 devs · median $2.0k · 6 announced
  3. + Music-Based Procedural GenerationFair10 devs · median $18k · 8 announced
  4. + TransportationFair19 devs · median $7.2k · 24 announced
  5. + MinigamesFair27 devs · median $5.7k · 34 announced
  6. + DwarvesFair7 devs · median $3.2k · 13 announced
  7. + BikesFair11 devs · median $1.5k · 10 announced
  8. + IdlerFair210 devs · median $1.2k · 286 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair146 devs · median $1.2k · 190 announced
  10. + GamblingFair30 devs · median $836 · 32 announced
  11. + Precision PlatformerFair103 devs · median $748 · 116 announced
  12. + TypingFair27 devs · median $539 · 38 announced

All 250 pairs on the Character Customization page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition older $39.99 219,271 94% 6.6M $263M (exactly $263,059,419) Bethesda Game Studios
Monster Hunter Wilds $39.99 200,984 52% 6.0M $241M (exactly $241,120,505) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
MONSTER HUNTER RISE older $39.99 79,847 84% 2.4M $96M (exactly $95,792,446) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Dragon's Dogma 2 older $39.99 76,627 62% 2.3M $92M (exactly $91,929,412) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Dragon Age™: The Veilguard $59.99 41,393 67% 1.2M $74M (exactly $74,494,982) BioWare
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE older $64.98 17,554 89% 527k $34M (exactly $34,219,768) DIMPS
Lords of the Fallen older $29.99 37,902 68% 1.1M $34M (exactly $34,100,429) CI Games
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen older $29.99 37,437 88% 1.1M $34M (exactly $33,682,069) Capcom
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 older $19.99 45,155 90% 1.4M $27M (exactly $27,079,453) QLOC, Dimps Corporation
DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT older $19.99 43,951 92% 1.3M $26M (exactly $26,357,415) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection $69.99 5,605 77% 168k $12M (exactly $11,768,818) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Anthro Heat $29.99 629 92% 19k $566k (exactly $565,911) Blue Lizard Studios
Elemental: Reforged $29.99 478 73% 14k $430k (exactly $430,057) Stardock Entertainment
Huaxia: Warring States · EA $19.99 701 61% 21k $420k (exactly $420,390) 秦川汉渚
Dragon Song Tavern: Cozy & Adventurous $19.90 274 71% 8.2k $164k (exactly $163,578) Etherous Games Limited
Mage and Monsters II $8.99 372 82% 11k $100k (exactly $100,328) Lasse Zacho Malver
Scarmonde $13.99 215 98% 6.5k $90k (exactly $90,236) Ephiam
Ultimate Drummer $5.99 170 98% 5.1k $31k (exactly $30,549) Cool 3D World

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