Games › Interactive Fiction › Interactive Fiction + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Interactive Fiction?
Interactive Fiction + Dark Fantasy
Of 146 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 250 more are announced, ×3.1 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 $540; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×230 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 250 games are announced against 80 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $17,261) |
| Top 5% | $145k (exactly $144,528) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 146 |
| Released games | 400 |
| Announced | 250 |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
- 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
- Interactive Fiction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Adventure, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.49 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.49 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 10,137 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 97 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 250 games are announced against 80 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Interactive Fiction with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVFair
- + Match 3Fair
- + VampiresFair
- + SportsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PiratesFair
- + DrivingFair
- + DiplomacyFair
- + Perma DeathFair
- + Board GameFair
- + SnowFair
- + BuildingFair
Comparable games
Little Misfortune 2019 · $7.1M 
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante 2021 · $4.9M 
Scarlet Hollow 2021 · EA · $4.3M 
Roadwarden 2022 · $1.5M 
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ 2023 · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Little Misfortune | older | $19.99 | 11,789 92% | 354k | $7.1M (exactly $7,069,863) | Killmonday Games AB |
| | The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante | older | $19.99 | 8,151 89% | 245k | $4.9M (exactly $4,888,155) | Sever, Schisma Games |
| | Scarlet Hollow | · EA older | $29.99 | 4,833 97% | 145k | $4.3M (exactly $4,348,250) | Black Tabby Games |
| | Roadwarden | older | $10.99 | 4,476 94% | 134k | $1.5M (exactly $1,475,737) | Moral Anxiety Studio |
| | The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ | older | $49.99 | 839 41% | 25k | $1.3M (exactly $1,258,248) | Daedalic Entertainment |
 | Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure | older | $19.99 | 2,089 89% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,252,773) | Stuck In Attic |
 | Cabernet | $19.99 | 2,025 94% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,214,392) | Party for Introverts | |
 | Forbidden Solitaire | $15.99 | 2,245 96% | 67k | $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) | Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertai… (Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertainment) | |
 | The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian | $24.99 | 1,356 74% | 41k | $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) | Schisma Games | |
 | DevilConnection | $16.66 | 1,951 98% | 59k | $975k (exactly $975,110) | ChaoGames | |
 | Corruption Town | · EA | $14.99 | 992 88% | 30k | $446k (exactly $446,102) | BoredBasmati |
 | Parasite Black | · EA | $17.49 | 372 89% | 11k | $195k (exactly $195,188) | Damned Studios |
 | 女儿国的诅咒 The Curse of Womanland | $9.99 | 501 96% | 15k | $150k (exactly $150,150) | 符离游戏（FuliGames） | |
 | The 7th Guest Remake | $19.99 | 241 86% | 7.2k | $145k (exactly $144,528) | Vertigo Games, Exkee | |
 | Sofia's Dark Fantasies — Season 1: Episodes 1 & 2 | $14.99 | 318 71% | 9.5k | $143k (exactly $143,005) | Greuceanu Heavy Industries | |
 | Kromlech | · EA | $29.99 | 136 65% | 4.1k | $122k (exactly $122,359) | Perun Creative |
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.