Games › Match 3 › Match 3 + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Match 3?
Match 3 + Dark Fantasy
Only 14 developers shipped a Dark-Fantasy Match 3 in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Kaamos: Puzzle Roguelike, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 16 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 16 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $267 (exactly $267) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
| Top 5% | $22k (exactly $21,878) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 44 |
| Announced | 16 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 15% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Match 3
- effort 2 / 10 · high · grid matching rules and cascades
- 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
- Match 3
- Price point
- $4.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 165 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Match 3 with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DemonsFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + ShooterFair
- + MagicFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + PvPLong shot
- + CombatLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
- + Visual NovelPoor odds
Comparable games
Merge & Blade 2023 · $36k 
Kaamos: Puzzle Roguelike 2025 · $22k 
Project: Sword Art 2023 · $19k 
Darkest Hunters 2017 · $14k 
Sparkle Unleashed 2016 · $14k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Merge & Blade | older | $9.99 | 121 76% | 3.6k | $36k (exactly $36,264) | Magic Cube |
| | Kaamos: Puzzle Roguelike | $9.99 | 73 87% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,878) | Pepperbox Studios | |
| | Project: Sword Art | older | $4.99 | 124 50% | 3.7k | $19k (exactly $18,563) | 430Games, BOA |
| | Darkest Hunters | older | $5.99 | 78 51% | 2.3k | $14k (exactly $14,017) | ECC GAMES S.A. |
| | Sparkle Unleashed | older | $7.99 | 57 73% | 1.7k | $14k (exactly $13,663) | 10tons Ltd |
 | Mystika 3 : Awakening of the dragons | older | $5.99 | 72 93% | 2.2k | $13k (exactly $12,938) | Unikgame |
 | Crown of Pain | older | $4.99 | 83 69% | 2.5k | $12k (exactly $12,425) | Jagit Games, Coldwild Games |
 | Rune Ark | $6.99 | 29 65% | 870 | $6.1k (exactly $6,081) | WelesGames | |
 | Twin Mind: Murderous Jealousy Collector's Edition | older | $7.99 | 19 52% | 570 | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) | Do Games Limited |
 | Mystika 4 : Dark Omens | older | $6.99 | 16 93% | 480 | $3.4k (exactly $3,355) | Unikgame |
 | Love x Fantasy: Horny Elf | $1.99 | 44 86% | 1.3k | $2.6k (exactly $2,627) | Mature Games | |
 | Maze of Realities: Synergy of Worlds Collector's Edition | $8.99 | 4 50% | 120 | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) | Do Games Limited | |
 | Waifu Simulator: Latex Edition | $4.99 | 5 40% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | Slippy Floor | |
 | Halloween Trouble 7: The Apprentice | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | Ironcode Gaming | |
 | Halloween Trouble 6: Pumpkin Rampage CE | $8.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $539 (exactly $539) | Ironcode Gaming | |
 | Tower Guild: Puzzle Cards | $8.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $539 (exactly $539) | plyoung | |
 | Mysteerie | $5.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $359 (exactly $359) | Mallow Games | |
 | Wet Dream Succubus | $4.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | Guara Games Art |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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