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Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Word Game?
Word Game + Dark Fantasy
Only 13 developers shipped a Dark-Fantasy Word Game 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, 女儿国的诅咒 The Curse of Womanland, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 36 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×239 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 36 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $5.9k (exactly $5,933) |
| Top 5% | $150k (exactly $150,150) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 30 |
| Announced | 36 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 450% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Word Game
- effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI
- 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
- Word Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Multiple Endings, RPG
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 825 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 36 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Word Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SurvivalFair
- + TacticalFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LootFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Choose Your Own AdventureFair
- + DetectiveFair
- + Procedural GenerationFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + NatureFair
Comparable games
Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk 2019 · $540k 
女儿国的诅咒 The Curse of Womanland 2026 · $150k 
Idle Land of Exile 2025 · $36k 
Nodes Escape 2023 · $32k 
4.1.60Co 2024 · $24k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk | older | $29.99 | 600 84% | 18k | $540k (exactly $539,820) | IDEA FACTORY |
| | 女儿国的诅咒 The Curse of Womanland | $9.99 | 501 96% | 15k | $150k (exactly $150,150) | 符离游戏（FuliGames） | |
| | Idle Land of Exile | $4.99 | 239 68% | 7.2k | $36k (exactly $35,778) | 所以然 | |
| | Nodes Escape | older | $1.99 | 529 85% | 16k | $32k (exactly $31,581) | 夜喵, Allen |
| | 4.1.60Co | older | $4.99 | 162 85% | 4.9k | $24k (exactly $24,251) | DEADDEVICE |
 | Flashback | older | $0.99 | 447 85% | 13k | $13k (exactly $13,276) | Renka |
 | Tied by your Red | older | $3.99 | 66 93% | 2.0k | $7.9k (exactly $7,900) | Yurif |
 | Dragon Maiden: Blossoms of the Past | $6.99 | 35 57% | 1.1k | $7.3k (exactly $7,340) | 不兼容性工作室 | |
 | 黑山羊BlackGoat | $8.99 | 22 68% | 660 | $5.9k (exactly $5,933) | HUPIDAN | |
 | Cabin of Shadows - Dueling Impostors- | older | $3.99 | 45 75% | 1.4k | $5.4k (exactly $5,386) | Nestopi Inc. |
 | Wordforge: Silent Letters | $9.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $899 (exactly $899) | Les Ganton | |
 | Typing English | $7.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $719 (exactly $719) | Novare Orbis | |
 | Bael's Rock: A Text Adventure | $5.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $539 (exactly $539) | GameClicks | |
 | 欺心恋曲/亵渎神明的少女 Deceptiive Love Ballad The Blasphemer 偽りの恋の旋律/神を冒涜する少女 | $2.50 | 7 100% | 210 | $525 (exactly $525) | Hjian | |
 | Visual Novel: There Are No Coincidences | $0.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $297 (exactly $297) | Reanim Games | |
 | Incestuous Affair | $2.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $179 (exactly $179) | Alright Peaches Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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