Do I ship it?

GamesChoose Your Own AdventureChoose Your Own Adventure + Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fantasy Choose Your Own Adventure game?

Choose Your Own Adventure + Fantasy

Of 386 developers who shipped a Fantasy 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.. 685 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $510; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×915 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 685 games are announced against 220 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 685 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Choose Your Own Adventure + Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 386
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $5.6k → $3.1k → $3.0k → $3.6k → $3.0k → $2.7k (still earning) → $959 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Choose Your Own Adventure + Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 386
Bottom 30% $509 (exactly $509)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,695)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $22,664)
Top 5% $435k (exactly $434,826)
Developers, 2 yr 386
Released games 1,213
Announced 685
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 up 30% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Choose Your Own Adventure
effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state
Fantasy
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Choose Your Own Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Visual Novel
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 203,504 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $510, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $430k.

3 in 10 developers made under $510. 9 in 10 of the 231 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 685 games are announced against 220 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Choose Your Own Adventure with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RhythmStrong odds23 devs · median $3.3k · 18 announced
  2. + FMVFair79 devs · median $54k · 74 announced
  3. + FlightFair9 devs · median $2.4k · 11 announced
  4. + SportsFair38 devs · median $2.4k · 41 announced
  5. + Word GameFair55 devs · median $1.4k · 65 announced
  6. + MilitaryFair23 devs · median $898 · 24 announced
  7. + Score AttackFair14 devs · median $898 · 11 announced
  8. + IdlerFair41 devs · median $718 · 36 announced
  9. + GamblingFair10 devs · median $494 · 14 announced
  10. + Local MultiplayerFair13 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  11. + 3D FighterLong shot17 devs · median $1.0k · 20 announced
  12. + NavalPoor odds9 devs · median $14k · 16 announced

All 198 pairs on the Choose Your Own Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Crimson Desert Enhanced $69.99 115,056 83% 3.5M $242M (exactly $241,583,083) Pearl Abyss
The Elder Scrolls® Online older $19.99 134,421 82% 4.0M $81M (exactly $80,612,274) ZeniMax Online Studios
Metaphor: ReFantazio $69.99 25,224 89% 757k $53M (exactly $52,962,833) ATLUS
Gothic 1 Remake $49.99 26,258 88% 788k $39M (exactly $39,379,123) Alkimia Interactive
Disney Dreamlight Valley older $39.99 22,027 92% 661k $26M (exactly $26,425,792) Gameloft
The Wolf Among Us older $14.99 32,494 97% 975k $15M (exactly $14,612,552) Telltale
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT older $39.99 7,231 98% 217k $8.7M (exactly $8,675,031) TYPE-MOON, Lasengle Inc., Hunex
Yes, Your Grace older $19.99 12,571 87% 377k $7.5M (exactly $7,538,829) Brave At Night
WitchSpring R older $34.99 6,858 95% 206k $7.2M (exactly $7,198,843) KIWIWALKS
Tavern Keeper 🍻 · EA $29.99 4,563 94% 137k $4.1M (exactly $4,105,331) Greenheart Games 💚
Magical Princess $14.99 7,636 96% 229k $3.4M (exactly $3,433,909) Neotro Inc., MAGI Inc.
Guild Wars® Reforged $19.99 3,265 87% 98k $2.0M (exactly $1,958,020) ArenaNet®
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
Aurelia $19.99 2,253 94% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,351,124) MirthalGames

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