Do I ship it?

Games › Choices Matter › Choices Matter + Chess

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Choices Matter Chess game?

Choices Matter + Chess

Only 19 developers shipped a Choices Matter Chess 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, Gambonanza, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $50. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 20 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 20 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Choices Matter + Chess
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $598 → $599 (still earning) → $360 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Choices Matter + Chess: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $419 (exactly $419)
Top 25% $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 5% $721k (exactly $721,319)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 28
Announced 20
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 750% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Choices Matter
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Chess
effort 1 / 10 · high · fully specified rules and known engines

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Choices Matter, Chess; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Board Game, Strategy, Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 2,033 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $420, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $720k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 20 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Choices Matter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds108 devs · median $58k · 91 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair18 devs · median $4.7k · 15 announced
  3. + SportsFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced
  4. + RhythmFair36 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced
  5. + Hidden ObjectFair261 devs · median $802 · 273 announced
  6. + TriviaFair26 devs · median $599 · 30 announced
  7. + Board GameFair119 devs · median $479 · 150 announced
  8. + RacingFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  9. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  10. + RomePoor odds10 devs · median $160k · 19 announced
  11. + World War IPoor odds10 devs · median $57k · 19 announced
  12. + VampiresPoor odds40 devs · median $20k · 93 announced

All 243 pairs on the Choices Matter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate 2022 · $1.8M Gambonanza 2026 · $721k Still There 2019 · $346k Passant: A Chess Roguelike 2025 · $131k Shattered Chess 2026 · $6.7k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate older $9.99 5,918 92% 178k $1.8M (exactly $1,773,625) PUNKCAKE Delicieux
Gambonanza $14.99 1,604 74% 48k $721k (exactly $721,319) Blukulélé
Still There older $14.99 770 87% 23k $346k (exactly $346,269) GhostShark
Passant: A Chess Roguelike $11.99 363 79% 11k $131k (exactly $130,571) Marc Makes Games
Shattered Chess $7.99 28 100% 840 $6.7k (exactly $6,712) Arti Works
Chesscent $7.99 14 64% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Alex did it
Solo Chess $9.99 5 60% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) NourSaiFR
harmony older $4.99 9 100% 270 $1.3k (exactly $1,347) Aleph Null
MetaChess $5.99 6 83% 180 $1.1k (exactly $1,078) MetaChess
Chess Exerciser · EA older $7.99 4 100% 120 $959 (exactly $959) Rapid-IT
PEGTURE: Peg Solitaire Roguelike $6.99 4 100% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Puff Games
CHESST $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) ANCIENT MOAI COOPERATIVE
Checkmate in the Wild West - Chess Adventure $3.99 5 100% 150 $598 (exactly $598) Grouper Games LLC
Chessemble $6.99 2 100% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Giga Glitch

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