Do I ship it?

Games › Character Customization › Character Customization + Heist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Heist Character Customization game?

Character Customization + Heist

Only 10 developers shipped a Heist Character Customization 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, The Greatest Penguin Heist of All Time, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 36 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $21k, ×33 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×1691 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 36 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 33.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 36 announced, ×5.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Customization + Heist
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: $1.8k → $27k → $84k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Customization + Heist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Median $21k (exactly $20,979)
Top 25% $84k (exactly $84,374)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,061,742)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 34
Announced 36
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 70% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Heist
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Price point
$11.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 9 games average 86% positive over 3,348 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $21k, 1 in 4 over $84k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 36 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 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

LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes 2 2017 · $4.5M SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION 2019 · $2.5M The Greatest Penguin Heist of All Time 2026 · $1.1M MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE 2018 · $989k Boo Men 2022 · EA · $500k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes 2 older $19.99 7,452 86% 224k $4.5M (exactly $4,468,964) TT Games, Feral Interactive (Mac)
SUPER DRAGON BALL HEROES WORLD MISSION older $59.99 1,404 82% 42k $2.5M (exactly $2,526,779) Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Lt… (Dimps Corporation, SAFARI GAMES Co., Ltd.)
The Greatest Penguin Heist of All Time $14.99 2,361 90% 71k $1.1M (exactly $1,061,742) That Fish, That Other Fish
MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE older $19.99 1,649 75% 49k $989k (exactly $988,905) Byking Inc.
Boo Men · EA older $7.99 2,088 88% 63k $500k (exactly $500,494) Twisted Corridor👻
It's Only Money $24.99 473 78% 14k $355k (exactly $354,608) Usual Suspects Studios
Raw Metal older $19.99 452 88% 14k $271k (exactly $271,064) Team Crucible
The Game of Annie 安妮的游戏 older $7.99 466 62% 14k $112k (exactly $111,700) potentknight
Yes My Lord older $14.99 204 95% 6.1k $92k (exactly $91,739) Doubles Core
Frog Sqwad 🐸 $7.99 352 72% 11k $84k (exactly $84,374) Panic Stations
Shadowhand Solitaire $13.99 64 90% 1.9k $27k (exactly $26,861) Grey Alien Games
Hazard Levels · EA $9.99 70 71% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,979) Wales Interactive
No Knock $9.99 16 50% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) No Knock
Cyber Academy · EA $11.99 5 100% 150 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) JinjaGames
Heist Haven · EA $12.99 4 0% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) Somehow Games
One Last Job $2.99 3 100% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Triple Eye Games
Rocinha Wars $3.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Amadeu Augusto de Carvalho Venturini

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