Should I ship a Crime PvE game?
PvE + Crime
Of 27 developers who shipped a Crime PvE 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.. 86 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $420, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180. 86 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 per shipper, while revenue is up 40% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $419 (exactly $419) |
| Top 25% | $1.9k (exactly $1,887) |
| Top 5% | $268k (exactly $268,021) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 27 |
| Released games | 79 |
| Announced | 86 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, FPS, Online Co-Op
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Retro
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,781 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 86 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
PAYDAY 2 2013 · $134M 
PAYDAY 3 2023 · $44M 
Crime Boss: Rockay City 2024 · $5.1M 
Alpha Response 2024 · EA · $473k 
Jackal 2026 · $268k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | PAYDAY 2 | older | $9.99 | 445,531 89% | 13M | $134M (exactly $133,525,641) | OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetr… (OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetrack Games) |
| | PAYDAY 3 | older | $29.99 | 49,305 45% | 1.5M | $44M (exactly $44,359,708) | Starbreeze Studios |
| | Crime Boss: Rockay City | older | $19.99 | 8,553 68% | 257k | $5.1M (exactly $5,129,234) | INGAME STUDIOS |
| | Alpha Response | · EA | $19.99 | 788 77% | 24k | $473k (exactly $472,564) | Ultimo Ratio Games |
| | Jackal | $14.99 | 596 88% | 18k | $268k (exactly $268,021) | Transhuman Design | |
 | Inspector Schmidt - A Bavarian Tale | older | $17.99 | 340 77% | 10k | $183k (exactly $183,498) | Active Fungus Studios |
 | GUARDS! | older | $9.99 | 418 68% | 13k | $125k (exactly $125,275) | WYLDERZONE, Lowkey GameDev |
 | Vigilantes | older | $14.99 | 276 80% | 8.3k | $124k (exactly $124,117) | Timeslip Softworks |
 | Peaky Blinders: The King's Ransom Complete Edition | older | $19.99 | 70 52% | 2.1k | $42k (exactly $41,979) | Maze Theory |
 | Federation77 | older | $9.99 | 96 78% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $28,771) | MIROWIN |
 | Find or be Found | $7.99 | 117 69% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $28,045) | Studio Downstairs | |
 | Ultra Cop | $1.99 | 195 89% | 5.9k | $12k (exactly $11,642) | JG Roos | |
 | CASE RECORDS: Lost Night | $4.99 | 56 46% | 1.7k | $8.4k (exactly $8,383) | Walnut LLC | |
 | Empire of Vice : Chicago | · EA | $16.99 | 9 77% | 270 | $4.6k (exactly $4,587) | Artifex Parvus |
 | Smoke Town | $6.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $1.9k (exactly $1,887) | TSRV | |
 | Heist Haven | · EA | $12.99 | 4 0% | 120 | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) | Somehow Games |
 | Twisted Chance Online | · EA | $12.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) | Fantasy World |
 | Gumball in Trick-or-Treat Land | $11.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) | Exquisite Laundry Pet LLC |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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