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Should I ship a Dog Choices Matter game?
Choices Matter + Dogs
Of 26 developers who shipped a Dog Choices Matter 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×340 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 35 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $1.8k (exactly $1,794) |
| Top 5% | $161k (exactly $161,442) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 84 |
| Announced | 35 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 10% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Dogs
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Choices Matter; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Investigation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 1,330 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Choices Matter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + SportsFair
- + RhythmFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + TriviaFair
- + Board GameFair
- + RacingFair
- + ChessFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + RomePoor odds
- + World War IPoor odds
Comparable games
Carnal Instinct 2021 · EA · $4.9M 
To The Rescue! 2021 · $1.1M 
The Red Lantern 2021 · $700k 
Furry Shades of Gay 2: A Shade Gayer 2021 · $221k 
Sex and the Furry Titty 2: Sins of the City 2022 · $212k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Carnal Instinct | · EA older | $29.99 | 5,407 82% | 162k | $4.9M (exactly $4,864,678) | Team Carnal Instinct |
| | To The Rescue! | older | $19.99 | 1,865 66% | 56k | $1.1M (exactly $1,118,440) | Little Rock Games, indie.io |
| | The Red Lantern | older | $24.99 | 934 83% | 28k | $700k (exactly $700,220) | Timberline Studio |
| | Furry Shades of Gay 2: A Shade Gayer | older | $9.99 | 738 96% | 22k | $221k (exactly $221,179) | Furlough Games |
| | Sex and the Furry Titty 2: Sins of the City | older | $9.99 | 708 91% | 21k | $212k (exactly $212,188) | Furlough Games |
 | The Beekeeper's Picnic - A Sherlockian Adventure | $13.99 | 467 97% | 14k | $196k (exactly $196,000) | The Wonder Room | |
 | Furry Shades of Gay | older | $6.99 | 835 91% | 25k | $175k (exactly $175,100) | Furlough Games |
 | Pets Hotel | older | $17.99 | 313 79% | 9.4k | $169k (exactly $168,926) | Games Incubator |
 | Blair Witch VR | older | $29.99 | 184 69% | 5.5k | $166k (exactly $165,545) | Bloober Team SA |
 | Milfylicious - Chapter I | $14.99 | 359 81% | 11k | $161k (exactly $161,442) | Maximus | |
 | DOG WITCH | $9.99 | 323 89% | 9.7k | $97k (exactly $96,803) | Heckmouse | |
 | The Good Dog: Chasing Shadows | · EA | $14.99 | 79 86% | 2.4k | $36k (exactly $35,526) | Poultry Party Games |
 | SIGNAL: Uncharted Lands | $4.99 | 57 98% | 1.7k | $8.5k (exactly $8,533) | HmarkaTeam | |
 | Sammy Jukes: Twin Lakes | $19.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $3.0k (exactly $2,998) | Wamill | |
 | Tiny Paws | · EA | $2.99 | 20 90% | 600 | $1.8k (exactly $1,794) | UPI Games |
 | Wantama☆Life | $24.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $1.5k (exactly $1,499) | CyberStep, Inc. | |
 | Murder Is Game Over: The Blackinton Curse | $5.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) | HitherYon Games | |
 | Chihuahua Controller | $3.99 | 10 80% | 300 | $1.2k (exactly $1,197) | SinPoDo |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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