Should I ship a PvP Chess game?
PvP + Chess
Of 38 developers who shipped a PvP Chess 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.. 57 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build. 27 developers shipped in the last year and 57 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $30 (exactly $30) |
|---|---|
| Median | $240 (exactly $240) |
| Top 25% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 5% | $25k (exactly $25,175) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 113 |
| Announced | 57 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 25%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP, Chess; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Board Game, Puzzle
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 544 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel 2020 · $2.9M 
Checkmate Showdown 2023 · $115k 
Dark Chess 2023 · $60k 
Chessplosion 2021 · $50k 
Trendpoker 3D: Texas Hold'em Poker 2017 · $30k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel | older | $11.99 | 8,097 96% | 243k | $2.9M (exactly $2,912,491) | Conor Petersen, Thunkspace, LLC |
| | Checkmate Showdown | older | $19.99 | 192 80% | 5.8k | $115k (exactly $115,142) | BadRez Games |
| | Dark Chess | older | $12.99 | 155 76% | 4.7k | $60k (exactly $60,404) | Tall Troll Games |
| | Chessplosion | older | $11.99 | 140 95% | 4.2k | $50k (exactly $50,358) | C.T. Matthews |
| | Trendpoker 3D: Texas Hold'em Poker | older | $9.99 | 100 76% | 3.0k | $30k (exactly $29,970) | BufoProject |
 | Hyper Chess | $2.99 | 321 92% | 9.6k | $29k (exactly $28,794) | Grouch, SuitNtie | |
 | Chess Infinity | $9.99 | 84 63% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $25,175) | Rockwater Games | |
 | Chess | older | $7.99 | 101 78% | 3.0k | $24k (exactly $24,210) | Popoko VM Games |
 | 3D Chess | older | $4.99 | 130 52% | 3.9k | $19k (exactly $19,461) | bumblebee |
 | Touhou DollDraft | older | $14.99 | 38 68% | 1.1k | $17k (exactly $17,089) | milliondoubts |
 | Chess Kingdom | $4.99 | 45 91% | 1.4k | $6.7k (exactly $6,736) | Pinch Games | |
 | Go | $7.99 | 25 72% | 750 | $6.0k (exactly $5,992) | Popoko VM Games | |
 | Chess of Mana | $8.99 | 17 88% | 510 | $4.6k (exactly $4,585) | Monk Monkey | |
 | Chess, Texas | $4.99 | 27 81% | 810 | $4.0k (exactly $4,042) | Studio Apollo | |
 | Just Chess | $11.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $2.9k (exactly $2,878) | Pupugames | |
 | Chinese Chess - Xiangqi | $7.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $1.9k (exactly $1,918) | Popoko VM Games | |
 | Chaos Pieces | $11.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | Suzuki Ken | |
 | Chesscape Room | · EA | $11.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.4k (exactly $1,439) | Figmenthol |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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