Do I ship it?

GamesPuzzlePuzzle + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cyberpunk Puzzle game?

Puzzle + Cyberpunk

Of 149 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk 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.. 218 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $130; 1 in 20 cleared $76k, ×121 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 218 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 218 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 149
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $1.9k → $599 → $748 → $898 → $600 → $300 (still earning) → $629 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 149
Bottom 30% $130 (exactly $130)
Median $598 (exactly $598)
Top 25% $5.4k (exactly $5,396)
Top 5% $76k (exactly $76,098)
Developers, 2 yr 149
Released games 448
Announced 218
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.88

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 10% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
Cyberpunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, RPG
Price point
$6.88 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.88.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 18,612 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $130, median $600, 1 in 4 over $5.3k, 1 in 20 over $76k.

3 in 10 developers made under $130. 9 in 10 of the 75 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 218 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorFair57 devs · median $8.2k · 53 announced
  2. + Medical SimFair17 devs · median $6.1k · 27 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair40 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair161 devs · median $1.8k · 150 announced
  5. + VampiresFair46 devs · median $1.7k · 37 announced
  6. + CatsFair281 devs · median $1.2k · 334 announced
  7. + DemonsFair233 devs · median $1.2k · 248 announced
  8. + God GameFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  9. + RomanceFair209 devs · median $1.0k · 251 announced
  10. + AutomationFair135 devs · median $1.0k · 164 announced
  11. + Tower DefenseFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 67 announced
  12. + LemmingsFair13 devs · median $959 · 11 announced

All 246 pairs on the Puzzle page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stray older $29.99 157,579 97% 4.7M $142M (exactly $141,773,826) BlueTwelve Studio
Atomic Heart older $59.99 41,690 81% 1.3M $75M (exactly $75,029,493) Mundfish
SUPERHOT older $24.99 27,765 91% 833k $21M (exactly $20,815,420) SUPERHOT Team
Mirror's Edge™ older $19.99 31,195 87% 936k $19M (exactly $18,707,642) DICE
SIGNALIS older $19.99 30,601 96% 918k $18M (exactly $18,351,420) rose-engine
Shadows of Doubt $24.99 14,646 82% 439k $11M (exactly $10,980,106) ColePowered Games
CrossCode older $19.99 16,376 92% 491k $9.8M (exactly $9,820,687) Radical Fish Games
SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE older $24.99 9,247 85% 277k $6.9M (exactly $6,932,476) SUPERHOT Team
SUPERHOT VR older $24.99 7,978 82% 239k $6.0M (exactly $5,981,107) SUPERHOT Team
The Red Strings Club older $14.99 12,797 93% 384k $5.8M (exactly $5,754,811) Deconstructeam
Third Crisis: Neon Nights · EA $19.99 1,127 92% 34k $676k (exactly $675,862) Anduo Games
Cybernetic Fault $14.99 679 78% 20k $305k (exactly $305,346) Whale Rock Games
Haydee 3 $29.99 321 84% 9.6k $289k (exactly $288,804) Haydee Interactive
Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 $19.99 341 96% 10k $204k (exactly $204,498) Strange Scaffold
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
Technotopia $4.99 599 86% 18k $90k (exactly $89,670) Yustas
Quantum Odyssey · EA $17.99 141 92% 4.2k $76k (exactly $76,098) Quarks Interactive
GRIDbeat! $19.99 93 100% 2.8k $56k (exactly $55,772) Ridiculous Games
Illusion Box $6.99 235 95% 7.1k $49k (exactly $49,280) Bad Image

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