Games › Runner › Runner + Choose Your Own Adventure
Should I ship a Choose Your Own Adventure Runner?
Runner + Choose Your Own Adventure
Only 18 developers shipped a Choose Your Own Adventure Runner in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, SPHERE ROLLER, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 13 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 7 developers shipped in the last year and 13 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $446 (exactly $446) |
| Top 25% | $1.9k (exactly $1,884) |
| Top 5% | $16k (exactly $16,497) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 52 |
| Announced | 13 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $2.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Runner
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Choose Your Own Adventure
- effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Runner, Choose Your Own Adventure; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Arcade, Physics
- Price point
- $2.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 217 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 13 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Runner with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LootFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + FPSLong shot
- + 4 Player LocalPoor odds
- + MusicPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Interactive FictionPoor odds
Comparable games
ALTF4 2021 · $848k 
SPHERE ROLLER 2026 · $16k 
Hobby Horse 2026 · $13k 
Only Out 2025 · $6.0k 
Gas Gas Rocket! 2024 · $3.6k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ALTF4 | older | $2.99 | 9,452 80% | 284k | $848k (exactly $847,844) | PUMPKIM |
| | SPHERE ROLLER | $49.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $16k (exactly $16,497) | Gamesforgames | |
| | Hobby Horse | $14.99 | 29 89% | 870 | $13k (exactly $13,041) | Games Incubator | |
| | Only Out | $4.99 | 40 95% | 1.2k | $6.0k (exactly $5,988) | Shark Studio | |
| | Gas Gas Rocket! | older | $9.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) | Gamesforgames |
 | ZXC | $4.99 | 21 95% | 630 | $3.1k (exactly $3,144) | JJGames | |
 | Cave Explorer | older | $4.99 | 15 73% | 450 | $2.2k (exactly $2,246) | CnockCnock |
 | Vigaro Runner | older | $4.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) | Tero Lunkka, Valkeala Software |
 | Dino running from a FURRY: GAMESFORFARM | $2.99 | 21 100% | 630 | $1.9k (exactly $1,884) | Piece Of Voxel, Gamesforfarm | |
 | Good Mourning | older | $2.99 | 21 90% | 630 | $1.9k (exactly $1,884) | Platonic Partnership |
 | MEMOLOGY: ESCAPE OF MEMES | $0.99 | 35 91% | 1.1k | $1.0k (exactly $1,040) | Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel | |
 | Only Down: Gravitation Up | $0.99 | 33 96% | 990 | $980 (exactly $980) | Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel | |
 | Sweet Escape | $1.99 | 11 36% | 330 | $657 (exactly $657) | King Kong | |
 | Human Strange Dream | $16.00 | 1 0% | 30 | $480 (exactly $480) | ALK | |
 | Nice Pro? | $0.99 | 15 100% | 450 | $446 (exactly $446) | NicePro |
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.