Do I ship it?

GamesDynamic NarrationDynamic Narration + Choose Your Own Adventure

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dynamic Narration Choose Your Own Adventure game?

Dynamic Narration + Choose Your Own Adventure

Of 71 developers who shipped a Dynamic Narration Choose Your Own Adventure 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.. 165 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $52k, ×110 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 165 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 165 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dynamic Narration + Choose Your Own Adventure
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 71
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $180 → $4.9k → $7.8k → $1.5k → $4.0k → $1.0k → $1.6k (still earning) → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dynamic Narration + Choose Your Own Adventure: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 71
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,559)
Top 25% $5.7k (exactly $5,664)
Top 5% $52k (exactly $52,220)
Developers, 2 yr 71
Released games 177
Announced 165
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 30% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Dynamic Narration
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Choose Your Own Adventure
effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Dynamic Narration, Choose Your Own Adventure; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choices Matter, Adventure, Visual Novel
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Emotional, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 2,696 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $5.6k, 1 in 20 over $52k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 165 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Dynamic Narration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SportsStrong odds17 devs · median $4.2k · 9 announced
  2. + IncrementalFair19 devs · median $4.0k · 14 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $3.0k · 17 announced
  4. + ModernFair15 devs · median $1.0k · 18 announced
  5. + TacticalFair13 devs · median $899 · 16 announced
  6. + LGBTQ+Poor odds12 devs · median $8.2k · 22 announced
  7. + RoguelikePoor odds11 devs · median $7.8k · 35 announced
  8. + RoguelitePoor odds10 devs · median $7.8k · 42 announced
  9. + Word GamePoor odds10 devs · median $5.2k · 17 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $4.4k · 40 announced
  11. + RomancePoor odds31 devs · median $4.2k · 50 announced
  12. + ManagementPoor odds21 devs · median $3.6k · 56 announced

All 84 pairs on the Dynamic Narration page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series older $49.99 36,594 96% 1.1M $55M (exactly $54,880,022) Skybound Games
Road 96 🛣️ older $19.96 22,118 91% 664k $13M (exactly $13,244,258) Digixart
BURIED STARS older $39.99 2,117 83% 64k $2.5M (exactly $2,539,765) LINE Games Corporation
CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience older $19.99 2,596 91% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,556,821) Delve Interactive
The Town of Light older $18.99 2,052 79% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,169,024) LKA
Foretales older $19.99 779 87% 23k $467k (exactly $467,166) Alkemi
Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator · EA $24.99 612 81% 18k $459k (exactly $458,816) Contec Games
Finnish Army Simulator · EA older $29.99 500 88% 15k $450k (exactly $449,850) Please Be Patient
Heading Out older $19.99 639 74% 19k $383k (exactly $383,208) Serious Sim, Crunching Koalas
Eternal Threads older $19.99 543 87% 16k $326k (exactly $325,637) Cosmonaut Studios
My Bimbo Dream $14.99 647 77% 19k $291k (exactly $290,956) MBD
Many Nights a Whisper $2.99 699 94% 21k $63k (exactly $62,700) Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour
Run TavernQuest $12.99 134 93% 4.0k $52k (exactly $52,220) Silicon Sundial
Throne of Monsters 怪物的王座 $12.99 130 92% 3.9k $51k (exactly $50,661) 雏形游戏
Femdom Wife Game - Emily · EA $19.99 78 84% 2.3k $47k (exactly $46,777) Femdom Wife Game
The Test: Reimagined $9.99 134 82% 4.0k $40k (exactly $40,160) Randumb Studios
Omen Exitio: Hunger $9.99 117 88% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) Tiny Bull Studios
Mythos, Book One $12.99 67 83% 2.0k $26k (exactly $26,110) Nine of Swords Studios
Time Heals $10.99 78 74% 2.3k $26k (exactly $25,717) Owl`s

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.