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Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Management game?
Management + Dark Fantasy
Of 76 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy Management 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.. 193 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×6.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $970k, ×1558 the market median. Revenue is up 335% on the market; 193 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.1k (exactly $1,078) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.3k (exactly $4,309) |
| Top 25% | $33k (exactly $32,922) |
| Top 5% | $978k (exactly $978,358) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 76 |
| Released games | 161 |
| Announced | 193 |
| 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 up 335% on the market, supply 95% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Management
- 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
- Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Isometric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 19,749 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 193 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
| 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 |
| | The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante | older | $19.99 | 8,151 89% | 245k | $4.9M (exactly $4,888,155) | Sever, Schisma Games |
| | Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness | older | $59.99 | 2,650 79% | 80k | $4.8M (exactly $4,769,205) | Chime Corporation |
| | 龙胤立志传 | $19.99 | 7,153 77% | 215k | $4.3M (exactly $4,289,654) | TPP Studio | |
| | Blood Bowl 3 | older | $29.99 | 3,940 51% | 118k | $3.5M (exactly $3,544,818) | Cyanide Studio |
| | Kynseed | older | $24.99 | 3,513 83% | 105k | $2.6M (exactly $2,633,696) | PixelCount Studios |
| | Blackthorn Arena | older | $24.99 | 3,477 69% | 104k | $2.6M (exactly $2,606,707) | PersonaeGame Studio |
| | Spellcaster University | older | $24.99 | 3,424 83% | 103k | $2.6M (exactly $2,566,973) | Sneaky Yak Studio |
| | Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager | older | $19.99 | 3,939 79% | 118k | $2.4M (exactly $2,362,218) | Goblinz Studio |
| | Nordhold | $19.99 | 2,875 87% | 86k | $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) | StunForge | |
| | Sir, We Have an Orc Problem | $9.99 | 4,123 86% | 124k | $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) | Mumpitz Games | |
| | Worshippers of Cthulhu | $24.99 | 1,305 80% | 39k | $978k (exactly $978,358) | Crazy Goat Games | |
| | Dungeon Settlers | · EA | $24.99 | 1,117 79% | 34k | $837k (exactly $837,415) | CanOpener |
| | DarkSwitch | $34.99 | 714 77% | 21k | $749k (exactly $749,486) | Cyber Temple | |
| | Blackthorn Arena: Reforged | $24.99 | 882 66% | 26k | $661k (exactly $661,235) | PersonaeGame Studio | |
| | Corruption Town | · EA | $14.99 | 992 88% | 30k | $446k (exactly $446,102) | BoredBasmati |
| | Escape The Mad Empire | · EA | $17.99 | 406 88% | 12k | $219k (exactly $219,118) | XperimentalZ Games |
| | Glorious Companions | $19.99 | 182 61% | 5.5k | $109k (exactly $109,145) | Ancient Forge |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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