Games › Spectacle fighter › Spectacle fighter + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Spectacle fighter?
Spectacle fighter + Dark Fantasy
Of 34 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy Spectacle fighter 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.. 66 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.5k, ×4.3 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $23M, ×15809 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 66 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.6k (exactly $1,648) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.5k (exactly $6,458) |
| Top 25% | $115k (exactly $115,123) |
| Top 5% | $24M (exactly $23,682,516) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 89 |
| Announced | 66 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $10.99 |
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 80% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Spectacle fighter
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Spectacle fighter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Hack and Slash
- Price point
- $10.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 40,699 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 5 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Spectacle fighter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Score AttackFair
- + HorrorFair
- + LootPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + Sci-fiPoor odds
- + RobotsPoor odds
- + MythologyPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + FightingPoor odds
- + Hack and SlashPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FINAL FANTASY XVI | $49.99 | 24,065 78% | 722k | $36M (exactly $36,090,280) | Square Enix | |
| | Onimusha: Way of the Sword | $69.99 | 11,279 89% | 338k | $24M (exactly $23,682,516) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 16,313 78% | 489k | $15M (exactly $14,676,806) | Gunfire Games, Vigil Games, THQ Nordic |
| | Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Ultimate Edition | older | $29.99 | 7,998 80% | 240k | $7.2M (exactly $7,195,801) | MercurySteam, Climax Studios |
| | STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN | older | $39.99 | 3,735 82% | 112k | $4.5M (exactly $4,480,880) | Square Enix, KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight | older | $9.99 | 10,502 93% | 315k | $3.1M (exactly $3,147,449) | Bombservice |
| | Soulstice | older | $39.99 | 1,845 76% | 55k | $2.2M (exactly $2,213,446) | Reply Game Studios |
| | YAR: Forgotten Throne | $19.99 | 1,283 89% | 38k | $769k (exactly $769,415) | Honor Games | |
| | NanoApostle | older | $19.99 | 1,184 95% | 36k | $710k (exactly $710,045) | 18Light Game Ltd. |
| | Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny | $29.99 | 663 85% | 20k | $597k (exactly $596,501) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Shady Knight | $19.99 | 898 93% | 27k | $539k (exactly $538,531) | Alexey 'cptnsigh' | |
| | Wretch: Divine Ascent | $14.99 | 975 75% | 29k | $438k (exactly $438,458) | Ogopogo | |
| | Divinum | $14.99 | 525 85% | 16k | $236k (exactly $236,092) | Sigil Games | |
| | Spirit X Strike | · EA | $12.99 | 406 82% | 12k | $158k (exactly $158,218) | MAICHA STUDIO |
| | Voidborn | $12.99 | 349 81% | 10k | $136k (exactly $136,005) | Xekvera | |
| | Two Strikes | $14.99 | 256 89% | 7.7k | $115k (exactly $115,123) | Retro Reactor |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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