Do I ship it?

GamesCharacter CustomizationCharacter Customization + Dynamic Narration

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Character Customization Dynamic Narration game?

Character Customization + Dynamic Narration

Of 23 developers who shipped a Character Customization Dynamic Narration 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.. 56 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×399 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 56 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 56 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Customization + Dynamic Narration
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $478 → $62k → $0 → $4.1k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Customization + Dynamic Narration: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $959 (exactly $959)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 25% $9.0k (exactly $8,991)
Top 5% $251k (exactly $250,549)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 58
Announced 56
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 down 85% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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
Dynamic Narration
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Dynamic Narration; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, CRPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $21.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $21.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 18,662 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $960, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $8.9k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $960. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Character Customization with a different second tag, 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
Drova - Forsaken Kin $24.99 9,455 93% 284k $7.1M (exactly $7,088,414) Just2D
CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience older $19.99 2,596 91% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,556,821) Delve Interactive
Young Souls older $24.99 494 84% 15k $370k (exactly $370,352) 1P2P
The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation · EA older $29.99 397 63% 12k $357k (exactly $357,181) Supercube
Your Mother $0.99 8,436 92% 253k $251k (exactly $250,549) M for Mother
Betrayal At Club Low older $9.99 538 97% 16k $161k (exactly $161,239) Cosmo D Studios
Dustgrave: A Sandbox RPG · EA $21.99 94 71% 2.8k $62k (exactly $62,012) Innervoid Interactive
DinoSystem · EA older $7.99 247 92% 7.4k $59k (exactly $59,206) Daniele Ferraro
Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain older $11.99 102 96% 3.1k $37k (exactly $36,689) Fiction Factory Games
5 NIGHTS AT SHALUN 4: SCHOOL $1.99 535 93% 16k $32k (exactly $31,940) Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV
Believr Pro Wrestling · EA $14.99 25 72% 750 $11k (exactly $11,242) Believr Games
AI Society $9.99 30 63% 900 $9.0k (exactly $8,991) b8ve
Clutch Legend: FPS Career Simulator $6.49 37 89% 1.1k $7.2k (exactly $7,204) Federico Mariotti
CielChan: Anime Desktop AI Companion $9.99 19 63% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Elushis
RolemIAster · EA $5.99 23 56% 690 $4.1k (exactly $4,133) ABAFE
Dynasty! $14.99 8 87% 240 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) newberry94005

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