Games › Choices Matter › Choices Matter + Word Game
Should I ship a Choices Matter Word Game?
Choices Matter + Word Game
Of 90 developers who shipped a Choices Matter Word 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.. 136 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $1.5M, ×3278 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 136 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $772 (exactly $772) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,250) |
| Top 25% | $36k (exactly $35,608) |
| Top 5% | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 90 |
| Released games | 237 |
| Announced | 136 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Word Game
- effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Choices Matter, Word Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Multiple Endings, Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 34,052 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $780. 6 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 136 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Choices Matter with a different second tag, 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
Homicipher 2024 · $3.3M 
Far Away 2021 · $3.0M 
Mandate Of Heaven 2025 · $2.4M 
The Séance of Blake Manor 2025 · $2.2M 
WILL: A Wonderful World / WILL：美好世界 2017 · $2.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Homicipher | $13.99 | 7,821 96% | 235k | $3.3M (exactly $3,282,474) | 八名木Games | |
| | Far Away | older | $12.99 | 7,598 94% | 228k | $3.0M (exactly $2,960,941) | Gratesca |
| | Mandate Of Heaven | $14.99 | 5,446 91% | 163k | $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) | 木焱工作室 | |
| | The Séance of Blake Manor | $19.99 | 3,683 95% | 110k | $2.2M (exactly $2,208,695) | Spooky Doorway | |
| | WILL: A Wonderful World / WILL：美好世界 | older | $14.99 | 4,588 92% | 138k | $2.1M (exactly $2,063,224) | WMY Studio |
 | Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator | $12.99 | 5,191 92% | 156k | $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) | Aluba Van+ | |
 | Matchmaking Inc. | $8.99 | 5,773 87% | 173k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) | Wave Games | |
 | 风信楼 | older | $11.99 | 3,423 94% | 103k | $1.2M (exactly $1,231,253) | Pingfang Games |
 | S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH | $13.99 | 2,324 90% | 70k | $975k (exactly $975,383) | U0U Games | |
 | Vanity Fair: The Pursuit | older | $6.99 | 4,014 87% | 120k | $842k (exactly $841,736) | 木焱工作室 |
 | The Inn-Sanity | $7.99 | 1,561 96% | 47k | $374k (exactly $374,172) | Steppe Hare Studio | |
 | Stiff Neck | $6.99 | 955 81% | 29k | $200k (exactly $200,264) | 伤官制作组 Team Uranian | |
 | 纸上的魔法使 | $29.99 | 213 89% | 6.4k | $192k (exactly $191,636) | UGUISUKAGURA | |
 | 轮回修仙传 | $4.99 | 1,085 81% | 33k | $162k (exactly $162,424) | Collider Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.