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Should I ship a Western Choices Matter game?
Choices Matter + Western
Of 24 developers who shipped a Western 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.. 34 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×7.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×332 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 34 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,346) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,615) |
| Top 5% | $209k (exactly $208,696) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 64 |
| Announced | 34 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- Western
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Choices Matter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,892 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
Weird West: Definitive Edition 2022 · $4.8M 
Outlaws of the Old West 2019 · EA · $3.3M 
West of Loathing 2017 · $3.2M 
Wild West Legacy 2024 · $1.4M 
Arco 2024 · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Weird West: Definitive Edition | older | $39.99 | 3,962 77% | 119k | $4.8M (exactly $4,753,211) | WolfEye Studios |
| | Outlaws of the Old West | · EA older | $19.99 | 5,584 58% | 168k | $3.3M (exactly $3,348,725) | Virtual Basement LLC |
| | West of Loathing | older | $10.99 | 9,716 97% | 291k | $3.2M (exactly $3,203,365) | Asymmetric |
| | Wild West Legacy | older | $26.99 | 1,706 39% | 51k | $1.4M (exactly $1,381,348) | Moon Punch Studio |
| | Arco | older | $19.99 | 2,185 96% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,310,344) | Franek, Max Cahill, Bibiki, Fáyer |
 | Westerado: Double Barreled | older | $14.99 | 1,400 92% | 42k | $630k (exactly $629,580) | Ostrich Banditos |
 | Saloon Simulator | · EA | $18.99 | 860 89% | 26k | $490k (exactly $489,942) | Glivi Games S.A. |
 | Rosewater | $19.99 | 348 91% | 10k | $209k (exactly $208,696) | Grundislav Games | |
 | Cattle Country | $18.99 | 335 86% | 10k | $191k (exactly $190,849) | Castle Pixel, LLC. | |
 | Exoplanet: First Contact | · EA older | $19.99 | 230 73% | 6.9k | $138k (exactly $137,931) | Alersteam |
 | Once a Porn a Time: Porn and Cards | $14.99 | 85 72% | 2.6k | $38k (exactly $38,224) | OPT Studio | |
 | I Want to Believe | $16.99 | 47 80% | 1.4k | $24k (exactly $23,956) | Fang's Lab | |
 | Bounty Trail | $6.99 | 84 52% | 2.5k | $18k (exactly $17,615) | September Games | |
 | Fuel Station Simulator | $6.99 | 55 60% | 1.7k | $12k (exactly $11,534) | QuantumPlay Studios | |
 | Bad Pixels | · EA | $11.99 | 22 95% | 660 | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) | Dadako |
 | Trans Theft Horso | $11.00 | 18 100% | 540 | $5.9k (exactly $5,940) | Cow Children Games | |
 | Tower of Madness | $4.99 | 38 89% | 1.1k | $5.7k (exactly $5,689) | J6 Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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