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Should I ship a Crafting Interactive Fiction?
Crafting + Interactive Fiction
Of 31 developers who shipped a Crafting 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.. 79 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×413 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 79 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,399) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,163) |
| Top 5% | $260k (exactly $259,540) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 31 |
| Released games | 87 |
| Announced | 79 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 up 25% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Crafting
- 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
- Crafting, Interactive Fiction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Simulation, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 2,688 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
Hobo: Tough Life 2021 · $7.8M 
Coffee Talk 2020 · $4.4M 
Wild West Legacy 2024 · $1.4M 
Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly 2023 · $1.1M 
Venba 2023 · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hobo: Tough Life | older | $29.99 | 8,679 84% | 260k | $7.8M (exactly $7,808,496) | Perun Creative |
| | Coffee Talk | older | $12.99 | 11,271 94% | 338k | $4.4M (exactly $4,392,309) | Toge Productions |
| | Wild West Legacy | older | $26.99 | 1,706 39% | 51k | $1.4M (exactly $1,381,348) | Moon Punch Studio |
| | Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly | older | $14.99 | 2,492 96% | 75k | $1.1M (exactly $1,120,652) | Toge Productions |
| | Venba | older | $14.99 | 2,393 93% | 72k | $1.1M (exactly $1,076,132) | Visai Games |
 | Green Hell VR | older | $19.99 | 1,143 57% | 34k | $685k (exactly $685,457) | Incuvo |
 | Sensei! I Like You So Much! | $16.99 | 1,304 86% | 39k | $665k (exactly $664,649) | LaoO Studio (Shanghai Ou Ou Xi Network… (LaoO Studio (Shanghai Ou Ou Xi Network Technology Co. LTD）) | |
 | KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire! | older | $49.99 | 210 89% | 6.3k | $315k (exactly $314,937) | MAGES. Inc. |
 | Bewitching Sinners | older | $17.99 | 513 94% | 15k | $277k (exactly $276,866) | Miss Xero |
 | GIRLS MADE PUDDING | $9.99 | 866 95% | 26k | $260k (exactly $259,540) | Kazuhide Oka | |
 | 东北往事 | $8.99 | 137 81% | 4.1k | $37k (exactly $36,949) | 二狗科技 | |
 | My Party Needs An Alchemist | $19.99 | 40 87% | 1.2k | $24k (exactly $23,988) | Gilded Rune Games | |
 | Apocalypse: The Last RV | · EA | $4.99 | 159 68% | 4.8k | $24k (exactly $23,802) | 光年切片工作室 |
 | RigidGems Museum | $24.99 | 25 96% | 750 | $19k (exactly $18,742) | FerioWorks | |
 | Tales from The Dancing Moon | $17.99 | 34 88% | 1.0k | $18k (exactly $18,350) | DjMonkey | |
 | Magical Greenhouse | $6.99 | 58 93% | 1.7k | $12k (exactly $12,163) | Mgtt Studio | |
 | Under the Disco Lights - 80's Bar Simulator | $9.99 | 34 85% | 1.0k | $10k (exactly $10,190) | Efsus Games | |
 | Confronted | · EA | $7.99 | 31 100% | 930 | $7.4k (exactly $7,431) | Grumpy Rock Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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