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Should I ship a Choices Matter FPS?
FPS + Choices Matter
Of 119 developers who shipped a Choices Matter FPS 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.. 224 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×0.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $930k, ×627 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 224 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,349) |
| Top 25% | $10k (exactly $10,132) |
| Top 5% | $940k (exactly $939,730) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 119 |
| Released games | 322 |
| Announced | 224 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- FPS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Choices Matter
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS, Choices Matter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Shooter
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 162,835 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 7 in 10 of the 67 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 224 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl | $59.99 | 106,592 81% | 3.2M | $192M (exactly $191,833,622) | GSC Game World | |
| | Insurgency: Sandstorm | older | $29.99 | 104,168 85% | 3.1M | $94M (exactly $93,719,950) | New World Interactive |
| | Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon | $44.99 | 33,560 87% | 1.0M | $45M (exactly $45,295,932) | Questline | |
| | Terminator: Resistance | older | $39.99 | 16,665 91% | 500k | $20M (exactly $19,993,000) | Teyon |
| | Choo-Choo Charles | older | $19.99 | 16,292 91% | 489k | $9.8M (exactly $9,770,312) | Two Star Games |
| | Dishonored®: Death of the Outsider™ | older | $29.99 | 9,801 86% | 294k | $8.8M (exactly $8,817,960) | Arkane Studios |
| | Atomfall | $49.99 | 4,526 76% | 136k | $6.8M (exactly $6,787,642) | Rebellion | |
| | Call of Cthulhu® | older | $19.99 | 10,962 79% | 329k | $6.6M (exactly $6,573,911) | Cyanide Studio |
| | Riddle Joker | older | $34.99 | 5,715 97% | 171k | $6.0M (exactly $5,999,036) | YUZUSOFT |
| | Café Stella and the Reaper's Butterflies | older | $34.99 | 5,450 97% | 164k | $5.7M (exactly $5,720,865) | YUZUSOFT |
| | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl - Enhanced Edition | $19.99 | 6,619 65% | 199k | $4.0M (exactly $3,969,414) | GSC Game World | |
| | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat - Enhanced Edition | $19.99 | 3,273 65% | 98k | $2.0M (exactly $1,962,818) | GSC Game World | |
| | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - Enhanced Edition | $19.99 | 2,698 59% | 81k | $1.6M (exactly $1,617,991) | GSC Game World | |
| | Hello Love: 18 Again | $19.99 | 2,075 92% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,244,378) | 念念而忘(Echofall Studio) | |
| | The Thing: Remastered | $29.99 | 1,203 89% | 36k | $1.1M (exactly $1,082,339) | Nightdive Studios, Computer Artworks | |
| | Football Life Simulator | · EA | $19.99 | 1,567 68% | 47k | $940k (exactly $939,730) | Ludu Arts |
| | DRACU-RIOT! | $34.99 | 722 98% | 22k | $758k (exactly $757,883) | YUZUSOFT |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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