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Should I ship a Crime Combat game?
Combat + Crime
Of 69 developers who shipped a Crime Combat 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.. 168 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $490k, ×790 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 168 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,166) |
| Top 25% | $104k (exactly $104,348) |
| Top 5% | $496k (exactly $495,952) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 69 |
| Released games | 191 |
| Announced | 168 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Combat; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Open World
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, Atmospheric, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 34,886 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 168 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds
- + 4XFair
- + TypingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + SnowFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Match 3Long shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Political SimPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Ready or Not 2023 · $398M 
PAYDAY 3 2023 · $44M 
Mafia: The Old Country 2025 · $31M 
Gotham Knights 2022 · $28M 
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition 2023 · $28M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ready or Not | older | $49.99 | 265,219 79% | 8.0M | $398M (exactly $397,748,934) | VOID Interactive |
| | PAYDAY 3 | older | $29.99 | 49,305 45% | 1.5M | $44M (exactly $44,359,708) | Starbreeze Studios |
| | Mafia: The Old Country | $49.99 | 20,909 71% | 627k | $31M (exactly $31,357,227) | Hangar 13 | |
| | Gotham Knights | older | $59.99 | 15,688 68% | 471k | $28M (exactly $28,233,694) | Warner Bros. Games Montréal, QLOC |
| | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition | older | $59.99 | 15,628 80% | 469k | $28M (exactly $28,125,712) | Rockstar Games |
 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition | older | $59.99 | 9,037 82% | 271k | $16M (exactly $16,263,889) | Rockstar Games |
 | Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Edition | older | $59.99 | 7,353 66% | 221k | $13M (exactly $13,233,194) | Rockstar Games |
 | Sherlock Holmes Chapter One | older | $44.99 | 4,189 77% | 126k | $5.7M (exactly $5,653,893) | Frogwares |
 | Crime Boss: Rockay City | older | $19.99 | 8,553 68% | 257k | $5.1M (exactly $5,129,234) | INGAME STUDIOS |
 | Yakuza 6: The Song of Life | older | $19.99 | 7,017 92% | 211k | $4.2M (exactly $4,208,095) | RGG Studio |
 | Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties | $59.99 | 2,229 62% | 67k | $4.0M (exactly $4,011,531) | RGG Studio | |
 | Yakuza 0 Director's Cut | $49.99 | 1,628 80% | 49k | $2.4M (exactly $2,441,512) | RGG Studio | |
 | Yakuza Kiwami | $19.99 | 1,334 82% | 40k | $800k (exactly $800,000) | RGG Studio | |
 | Yakuza Kiwami 2 | $19.99 | 1,135 82% | 34k | $681k (exactly $680,660) | RGG Studio | |
 | Better Than Dead | · EA | $14.99 | 1,500 72% | 45k | $675k (exactly $674,550) | MONTE GALLO |
 | Vivat Slovakia | $19.99 | 827 50% | 25k | $496k (exactly $495,952) | Team Vivat | |
 | Alpha Response | · EA | $19.99 | 788 77% | 24k | $473k (exactly $472,564) | Ultimo Ratio Games |
 | Butcher's Creek | $9.99 | 1,539 94% | 46k | $461k (exactly $461,238) | David Szymanski | |
 | Karate Survivor | $4.99 | 2,997 85% | 90k | $449k (exactly $448,651) | Alawar |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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