Games › Economy › Economy + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Economy game?
Economy + Dark Fantasy
Of 32 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy Economy 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.. 67 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×9.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $740k, ×1193 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 67 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.7k (exactly $5,662) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $18,708) |
| Top 5% | $749k (exactly $749,486) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 57 |
| Announced | 67 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 down 40% on the market, supply 600% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Economy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Building
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 4,085 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 67 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Dungeons 3 2017 · $11M 
Dungeon Alchemist 2022 · EA · $3.6M 
Spellcaster University 2021 · $2.6M 
Soulash 2 2023 · EA · $1.4M 
Master of Magic 2022 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dungeons 3 | older | $29.99 | 12,648 93% | 379k | $11M (exactly $11,379,406) | Realmforge Studios |
| | Dungeon Alchemist | · EA older | $44.99 | 2,666 94% | 80k | $3.6M (exactly $3,598,300) | Briganti |
| | Spellcaster University | older | $24.99 | 3,424 83% | 103k | $2.6M (exactly $2,566,973) | Sneaky Yak Studio |
| | Soulash 2 | · EA older | $18.99 | 2,382 85% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,357,025) | Artur Smiarowski |
| | Master of Magic | older | $39.99 | 1,023 71% | 31k | $1.2M (exactly $1,227,293) | MuHa Games, Eerie Forest Studio |
 | Worshippers of Cthulhu | $24.99 | 1,305 80% | 39k | $978k (exactly $978,358) | Crazy Goat Games | |
 | DarkSwitch | $34.99 | 714 77% | 21k | $749k (exactly $749,486) | Cyber Temple | |
 | Shadows of Forbidden Gods | older | $19.99 | 1,046 91% | 31k | $627k (exactly $627,286) | Bobby Two Hands |
 | Crown of Greed | $19.99 | 680 60% | 20k | $408k (exactly $407,796) | BLUM Entertainment | |
 | Grim Realms | older | $14.99 | 408 79% | 12k | $183k (exactly $183,478) | Edym Pixels |
 | Loot Tycoon | · EA | $6.99 | 544 71% | 16k | $114k (exactly $114,077) | Parallel Portal |
 | Miseria | $7.99 | 350 58% | 11k | $84k (exactly $83,895) | Somnambulist Games | |
 | Idle Chapel | $6.99 | 205 78% | 6.2k | $43k (exactly $42,988) | Outer Choir | |
 | Minsgon Simulator | $9.99 | 112 78% | 3.4k | $34k (exactly $33,566) | Vokcen | |
 | Realms of Madness | $15.99 | 39 89% | 1.2k | $19k (exactly $18,708) | Robin van der Horst | |
 | Human Fast Food | $6.99 | 79 89% | 2.4k | $17k (exactly $16,566) | Bricchi Games | |
 | Lichgate: Tower Survivor | $6.99 | 57 75% | 1.7k | $12k (exactly $11,953) | Sun Lion Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.