Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Dynamic Narration

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Dynamic Narration game?

Combat + Dynamic Narration

Only 15 developers shipped a Combat Dynamic Narration game 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, Outpost Legends, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 52 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×160 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 52 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 52 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Dynamic Narration
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $297 → $1.3k → $8.5k → $0 (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Dynamic Narration: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $8.5k (exactly $8,544)
Top 5% $101k (exactly $100,775)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 49
Announced 52
Effort 5 / 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 100% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dynamic Narration
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat, Dynamic Narration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Choices Matter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 201 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $720, 1 in 4 over $8.5k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Outcast - A New Beginning 2024 · $1.5M Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter 2023 · $767k 武林志2 (Wushu Chronicles 2) 2021 · EA · $477k Foretales 2022 · $467k Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm 2023 · $266k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Outcast - A New Beginning older $39.99 1,232 78% 37k $1.5M (exactly $1,478,030) Appeal Studios
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter older $29.99 852 73% 26k $767k (exactly $766,544) Iron Wolf Studio S.A.
武林志2 (Wushu Chronicles 2) · EA older $19.99 795 41% 24k $477k (exactly $476,761) JiangHu Studio
Foretales older $19.99 779 87% 23k $467k (exactly $467,166) Alkemi
Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm older $29.99 296 73% 8.9k $266k (exactly $266,311) Cornfox & Brothers Ltd.
Invincible Presents: Atom Eve older $9.99 550 96% 17k $165k (exactly $164,835) Terrible Posture Games
Immortal Heritage · EA older $39.99 89 84% 2.7k $107k (exactly $106,773) LC.Game
Outpost Legends $39.99 84 95% 2.5k $101k (exactly $100,775) OUT LLL
DinoSystem · EA older $7.99 247 92% 7.4k $59k (exactly $59,206) Daniele Ferraro
NAPOLEON: RULE OF IRON $19.99 22 90% 660 $13k (exactly $13,193) Eisengeist Studio
Steel Knight's ARMIS $9.99 40 57% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,988) Izanami Game Lab, Inc., FORCES
Aris Arcanum $14.99 19 73% 570 $8.5k (exactly $8,544) Broken Cane
RolemIAster · EA $5.99 23 56% 690 $4.1k (exactly $4,133) ABAFE
Cataclysm Wars $9.99 6 100% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) Chicken Cabal Games
Train Trek · EA $14.99 2 100% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Aixceptional
The Museum Sentinel $11.99 2 100% 60 $719 (exactly $719) Mate Lovas
Gems are Mine, Slashes are Yours: Blood & Blessing $9.99 2 0% 60 $599 (exactly $599) DIM Games
Revenge of The Gamer $4.99 1 0% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Spirit

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