Do I ship it?

GamesCharacter CustomizationCharacter Customization + Superhero

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Superhero Character Customization game?

Character Customization + Superhero

Only 17 developers shipped a Superhero 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, Superhero Simulator, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 35 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×2.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×104 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 35 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 35 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Customization + Superhero
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $14k → $54k → $898 → $21k → $4.5k → $82k → $3.6k (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Customization + Superhero: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $600 (exactly $600)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,116)
Top 25% $9.4k (exactly $9,444)
Top 5% $156k (exactly $155,800)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 70
Announced 35
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 25% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Character Customization
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Superhero
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Character Customization; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hero Shooter, RPG
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 1,188 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $9.4k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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
Saints Row IV: Re-Elected older $19.99 57,525 87% 1.7M $34M (exactly $34,497,742) Deep Silver Volition
Marvel's Midnight Suns older $59.99 17,060 82% 512k $31M (exactly $30,702,882) Firaxis Games
South Park™: The Fractured But Whole™ older $29.99 31,985 85% 960k $29M (exactly $28,776,904) Ubisoft San Francisco
Gotham Knights older $59.99 15,688 68% 471k $28M (exactly $28,233,694) Warner Bros. Games Montréal, QLOC
Injustice™ 2 older $49.99 17,445 86% 523k $26M (exactly $26,162,266) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame older $19.99 12,850 89% 386k $7.7M (exactly $7,706,145) Traveller's Tales
LEGO® DC Super-Villains older $39.99 5,798 91% 174k $7.0M (exactly $6,955,861) TT Games, Feral Interactive (Mac)
MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE 2 older $59.99 3,152 88% 95k $5.7M (exactly $5,672,654) BYKING
Saints Row older $29.99 5,765 61% 173k $5.2M (exactly $5,186,770) Volition
DRAGON BALL: THE BREAKERS older $29.99 4,983 50% 149k $4.5M (exactly $4,483,205) Dimps Corporation
Superhero Simulator · EA $5.99 867 73% 26k $156k (exactly $155,800) mightyraccoon! Studios
Ship of Heroes $29.99 91 27% 2.7k $82k (exactly $81,873) Heroic Games Corporation
STARVAULT VR $24.99 66 89% 2.0k $49k (exactly $49,480) Theia Games
Kinky Cosplay Heroes $19.99 35 77% 1.1k $21k (exactly $20,990) Sexy Hentai Games Factory
Rabbiman Adventures $14.99 21 100% 630 $9.4k (exactly $9,444) ISRACHEM LTD
Heroes of Tomorrow: Hidden Potential $7.99 32 75% 960 $7.7k (exactly $7,670) Choice of Games
The Last Scion $5.99 25 84% 750 $4.5k (exactly $4,492) Choice of Games
DREADMARCH $4.99 24 79% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) MM88
Dawn of Heroes $7.99 14 64% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Hosted Games
Spectacular Team: Assemble $7.99 13 100% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Sengi Games

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