Do I ship it?

GamesCharacter CustomizationCharacter Customization + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Character Customization Puzzle game?

Character Customization + Puzzle

Of 212 developers who shipped a Character Customization Puzzle 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.. 304 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×474 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 304 games are announced against 113 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 304 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Customization + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 212
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $6.9k → $564 → $3.6k → $1.0k → $539 → $1.9k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Customization + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 212
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $9.4k (exactly $9,444)
Top 5% $297k (exactly $297,451)
Developers, 2 yr 212
Released games 566
Announced 304
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 35% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

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, Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 17,170 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 $960, 1 in 4 over $9.4k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 112 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 304 games are announced against 113 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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
Hogwarts Legacy older $59.99 274,801 89% 8.2M $495M (exactly $494,559,360) Avalanche Software
The Escapists 2 older $19.99 26,452 90% 794k $16M (exactly $15,863,264) Team17, Mouldy Toof Studios
LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame older $19.99 12,850 89% 386k $7.7M (exactly $7,706,145) Traveller's Tales
Immortals Fenyx Rising older $39.99 4,522 73% 136k $5.4M (exactly $5,425,043) Ubisoft
LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes 2 older $19.99 7,452 86% 224k $4.5M (exactly $4,468,964) TT Games, Feral Interactive (Mac)
Labyrinthine older $9.99 13,779 84% 413k $4.1M (exactly $4,129,566) Valko Game Studios
Biped older $14.99 9,025 85% 271k $4.1M (exactly $4,058,542) NEXT Studios
West of Loathing older $10.99 9,716 97% 291k $3.2M (exactly $3,203,365) Asymmetric
Death and Taxes older $12.99 7,855 86% 236k $3.1M (exactly $3,061,094) Placeholder Gameworks
Escape Simulator 2 $19.99 4,292 92% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) Pine Studio
Once Upon A KATAMARI $39.99 1,355 90% 41k $1.6M (exactly $1,625,594) RENGAME
Yooka-Replaylee $29.99 1,045 92% 31k $940k (exactly $940,186) Playtonic Games
Squeakross: Home Squeak Home $14.99 2,045 98% 61k $920k (exactly $919,636) Alblune
Turbo Dismount® 2 $19.99 753 95% 23k $452k (exactly $451,574) Secret Exit Ltd.
Find Matt's Cats $19.99 719 98% 22k $431k (exactly $431,184) Matt Roszak
That's not my Neighbor $2.99 4,498 88% 135k $403k (exactly $403,471) Nachosama Games
A Webbing Journey · EA $9.99 1,263 98% 38k $379k (exactly $378,521) Fire Totem Games
Schrodinger's Cat Burglar $19.99 613 97% 18k $368k (exactly $367,616) Abandoned Sheep
NAIAD $19.99 587 95% 18k $352k (exactly $352,024) HiWarp

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