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Should I ship a Combat Interactive Fiction?
Combat + Interactive Fiction
Of 40 developers who shipped a Combat Interactive Fiction 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.. 67 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×394 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 67 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
| Top 25% | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) |
| Top 5% | $247k (exactly $247,460) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 122 |
| Announced | 67 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.95 |
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 170% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Combat, Interactive Fiction; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Action
- Price point
- $5.95 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Dialogue Heavy
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.95.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 5,481 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 67 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat with a different second tag, 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
SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M 
Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown 2026 · $4.4M 
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ 2023 · $1.3M 
Foretales 2022 · $467k 
Inquisitor’s Heart and Soul 2025 · $247k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SCARLET NEXUS | older | $59.99 | 13,749 81% | 412k | $25M (exactly $24,744,075) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
| | Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown | $34.99 | 4,162 79% | 125k | $4.4M (exactly $4,368,851) | Gamexcite | |
| | The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ | older | $49.99 | 839 41% | 25k | $1.3M (exactly $1,258,248) | Daedalic Entertainment |
| | Foretales | older | $19.99 | 779 87% | 23k | $467k (exactly $467,166) | Alkemi |
| | Inquisitor’s Heart and Soul | $12.99 | 635 80% | 19k | $247k (exactly $247,460) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | The Warlock of Firetop Mountain | older | $19.99 | 352 76% | 11k | $211k (exactly $211,094) | Tin Man Games |
 | Serum: Toxic Survival | · EA older | $24.99 | 253 45% | 7.6k | $190k (exactly $189,674) | Game Island |
 | Invincible Presents: Atom Eve | older | $9.99 | 550 96% | 17k | $165k (exactly $164,835) | Terrible Posture Games |
 | 风流公子romantic young man | older | $4.99 | 704 92% | 21k | $105k (exactly $105,389) | Ronin SoftWork |
 | Waifu Fighter -Family Friendly | older | $7.99 | 361 83% | 11k | $87k (exactly $86,532) | Happy Monster Studio |
 | Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of MoonFall | · EA | $19.99 | 111 71% | 3.3k | $67k (exactly $66,567) | A Memory of Eternity |
 | CyberPimp 2069 | $17.99 | 118 87% | 3.5k | $64k (exactly $63,685) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | Miami Paradise 2 | $14.99 | 131 94% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | Astra: Ardent Show | $7.99 | 98 85% | 2.9k | $23k (exactly $23,491) | Lustration Team | |
 | Cartier 06 | $4.99 | 93 74% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $13,922) | CowardlyKnights | |
 | Fight For Mi | $6.99 | 57 98% | 1.7k | $12k (exactly $11,953) | Lord Blubbee | |
 | Gordy | $3.99 | 49 89% | 1.5k | $5.9k (exactly $5,865) | MyGrandfather Games | |
 | Lydina and the Dungeon of Debauchery | $6.99 | 27 55% | 810 | $5.7k (exactly $5,662) | TyphoonCom |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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