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Should I ship a Romance Choices Matter game?
Choices Matter + Romance
Of 767 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 1,081 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.8k, ×19 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×677 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 1,081 games are announced against 450 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.8k (exactly $8,820) |
| Top 25% | $47k (exactly $46,981) |
| Top 5% | $322k (exactly $321,536) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 767 |
| Released games | 2,531 |
| Announced | 1,081 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Romance
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Choices Matter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Dating Sim, Multiple Endings
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Emotional, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 253,251 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.1k. 7 in 10 of the 464 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,081 games are announced against 450 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
Baldur's Gate 3 2023 · $1.4B 
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition 2017 · $244M 
Dispatch 2025 · $157M 
Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition 2021 · $112M 
Dragon Age™: The Veilguard 2024 · $74M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Baldur's Gate 3 | older | $59.99 | 755,010 96% | 23M | $1.4B (exactly $1,358,791,497) | Larian Studios |
| | Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition | older | $44.99 | 180,782 95% | 5.4M | $244M (exactly $244,001,465) | Larian Studios |
| | Dispatch | $29.99 | 174,624 97% | 5.2M | $157M (exactly $157,109,213) | AdHoc Studio | |
| | Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition | older | $59.99 | 62,205 91% | 1.9M | $112M (exactly $111,950,338) | BioWare |
| | Dragon Age™: The Veilguard | $59.99 | 41,393 67% | 1.2M | $74M (exactly $74,494,982) | BioWare | |
 | Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition | older | $49.99 | 34,157 83% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,225,253) | Owlcat Games |
 | Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader | older | $49.99 | 33,701 87% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $50,541,390) | Owlcat Games |
 | Senren＊Banka | older | $34.99 | 33,721 98% | 1.0M | $35M (exactly $35,396,934) | YUZUSOFT |
 | Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition | older | $29.99 | 28,721 85% | 862k | $26M (exactly $25,840,284) | BioWare |
 | STEINS;GATE | older | $29.99 | 25,289 97% | 759k | $23M (exactly $22,752,513) | MAGES. Inc. |
 | Life is Strange: Double Exposure | $49.99 | 7,842 68% | 235k | $12M (exactly $11,760,647) | Deck Nine Games | |
 | Lost Records: Bloom & Rage | $39.99 | 5,873 86% | 176k | $7.0M (exactly $7,045,838) | DON'T NOD | |
 | Life is Strange: Reunion | $39.99 | 4,535 89% | 136k | $5.4M (exactly $5,440,640) | Deck Nine Games | |
 | Five Hearts Under One Roof | $19.99 | 5,881 91% | 176k | $3.5M (exactly $3,526,836) | Storytaco | |
 | Sovereign Tower | $19.99 | 3,087 93% | 93k | $1.9M (exactly $1,851,274) | WILD WITS GAMES | |
 | Summer Pockets REFLECTION BLUE | $49.99 | 1,231 91% | 37k | $1.8M (exactly $1,846,131) | VISUAL ARTS/Key | |
 | Desert Stalker | · EA | $17.99 | 3,012 95% | 90k | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,576) | Zetan |
 | Matchmaking Inc. | $8.99 | 5,773 87% | 173k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) | Wave Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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