Do I ship it?

Games › CRPG › CRPG + Interactive Fiction

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Interactive Fiction CRPG?

CRPG + Interactive Fiction

Of 95 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction CRPG 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.. 139 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×1.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $320; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×232 the market median. Revenue is up 200% on the market; 139 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 200% on the market, 139 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
CRPG + Interactive Fiction
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 95
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $2.7k → $1.3k → $1.1k → $742 → $5.2k → $4.3k (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for CRPG + Interactive Fiction: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 95
Bottom 30% $314 (exactly $314)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,884)
Top 25% $50k (exactly $50,496)
Top 5% $347k (exactly $346,947)
Developers, 2 yr 95
Released games 228
Announced 139
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.00

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 200% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

CRPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Interactive Fiction
effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
CRPG, Interactive Fiction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Visual Novel, Multiple Endings
Price point
$6.00 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Emotional
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $6.00.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 21,417 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $320, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $50k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $320. 8 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 139 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $26k · 14 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair84 devs · median $2.4k · 95 announced
  3. + TabletopFair22 devs · median $1.9k · 26 announced
  4. + Traditional RoguelikeFair12 devs · median $1.9k · 13 announced
  5. + 2D PlatformerFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  6. + IncrementalLong shot32 devs · median $449 · 27 announced
  7. + FMVPoor odds16 devs · median $58k · 14 announced
  8. + Card BattlerPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 28 announced
  9. + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds26 devs · median $23k · 46 announced
  10. + SpacePoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds13 devs · median $22k · 23 announced
  12. + Souls-likePoor odds12 devs · median $20k · 24 announced

All 123 pairs on the CRPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut 2023 · $17M Esoteric Ebb 2026 · $6.5M Mandate Of Heaven 2025 · $2.4M Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum 2023 · $944k 咸鱼殿下 / My journey 2025 · $712k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut older $17.99 31,885 96% 957k $17M (exactly $17,208,334) Black Tabby Games
Esoteric Ebb $24.99 8,719 95% 262k $6.5M (exactly $6,536,634) Christoffer Bodegård
Mandate Of Heaven $14.99 5,446 91% 163k $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) 木焱工作室
Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum older $19.99 1,574 92% 47k $944k (exactly $943,928) AstralShift, VisuStella
咸鱼殿下 / My journey $11.99 1,979 85% 59k $712k (exactly $711,846) 大聪明工作室
ghostpia Season One older $19.99 871 92% 26k $522k (exactly $522,339) Chosuido, 超水道
Hua Manlou $10.99 1,481 97% 44k $488k (exactly $488,286) 初域游戏
Lightracer Spark older $12.99 970 83% 29k $378k (exactly $378,009) Smartmelon Games
哎呦!这么多美女呀! $18.99 609 91% 18k $347k (exactly $346,947) Hangzhou Miqi Technology Co.,Ltd
Fabled Lands older $18.99 523 79% 16k $298k (exactly $297,953) Prime Games
我的恋爱逃生攻略 Love to Live $9.99 864 85% 26k $259k (exactly $258,941) 番茄炖肉制作组
Only You $6.99 719 94% 22k $151k (exactly $150,774) 忘雪社
暴杀残雨之夜 $6.00 779 98% 23k $140k (exactly $140,220) 茶斩刀制作组
CaseCracker3 $12.99 359 84% 11k $140k (exactly $139,902) BlackRobe
这个CEO我当定了！ $7.99 462 82% 14k $111k (exactly $110,741) 叁石肆两

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