Games › Combat › Combat + Puzzle
Should I ship a Combat Puzzle game?
Combat + Puzzle
Of 261 developers who shipped a Combat Puzzle 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.. 534 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $840, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×568 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 534 games are announced against 140 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $838 (exactly $838) |
| Top 25% | $6.6k (exactly $6,597) |
| Top 5% | $357k (exactly $356,822) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 261 |
| Released games | 738 |
| Announced | 534 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Combat, Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 25,331 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 156 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 534 games are announced against 140 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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
Hogwarts Legacy 2023 · $495M 
UNCHARTED™: Legacy of Thieves Collection 2022 · $44M 
BONELAB 2022 · $22M 
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince 2019 · $11M 
Bendy and the Dark Revival 2022 · $8.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hogwarts Legacy | older | $59.99 | 274,801 89% | 8.2M | $495M (exactly $494,559,360) | Avalanche Software |
| | UNCHARTED™: Legacy of Thieves Collection | older | $49.99 | 29,422 90% | 883k | $44M (exactly $44,124,173) | Naughty Dog LLC, Iron Galaxy Studios |
| | BONELAB | older | $39.99 | 18,670 82% | 560k | $22M (exactly $22,398,399) | Stress Level Zero |
| | Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince | older | $29.99 | 11,712 88% | 351k | $11M (exactly $10,537,286) | Frozenbyte |
| | Bendy and the Dark Revival | older | $19.99 | 14,497 92% | 435k | $8.7M (exactly $8,693,851) | Joey Drew Studios |
 | Hell is Us | $49.99 | 4,279 83% | 128k | $6.4M (exactly $6,417,216) | Rogue Factor | |
 | SUPERHOT VR | older | $24.99 | 7,978 82% | 239k | $6.0M (exactly $5,981,107) | SUPERHOT Team |
 | Sherlock Holmes Chapter One | older | $44.99 | 4,189 77% | 126k | $5.7M (exactly $5,653,893) | Frogwares |
 | Immortals Fenyx Rising | older | $39.99 | 4,522 73% | 136k | $5.4M (exactly $5,425,043) | Ubisoft |
 | Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy | $49.99 | 3,558 92% | 107k | $5.3M (exactly $5,335,933) | Asobo Studio | |
 | Enigma of Fear | $29.99 | 3,045 95% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) | Dumativa, Cellbit | |
 | Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered | $29.99 | 3,042 90% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,736,887) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
 | OFF | $14.99 | 3,093 95% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,390,922) | Mortis Ghost, Fangamer | |
 | Rogue Waters | $29.99 | 955 75% | 29k | $859k (exactly $859,214) | Ice Code Games | |
 | Metal Garden | $5.99 | 4,375 96% | 131k | $786k (exactly $786,188) | Tinerasoft | |
 | Pronoun Palace | $19.84 | 1,249 99% | 37k | $743k (exactly $743,405) | Cadence Petersen, Hazel Fackler | |
 | Titanium Court | $14.99 | 1,094 94% | 33k | $492k (exactly $491,972) | AP Thomson | |
 | Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered | $24.99 | 641 96% | 19k | $481k (exactly $480,558) | Crystal Dynamics, PlayEveryWare |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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