Do I ship it?

GamesPuzzlePuzzle + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Puzzle game?

Puzzle + Demons

Of 233 developers who shipped a Demon Puzzle 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.. 248 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 248 games are announced against 127 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 248 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Puzzle + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 233
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.5k → $2.2k → $1.9k → $748 → $950 → $1.9k → $1.2k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Puzzle + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 233
Bottom 30% $298 (exactly $298)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $5.6k (exactly $5,571)
Top 5% $73k (exactly $72,629)
Developers, 2 yr 233
Released games 660
Announced 248
Effort 4 / 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 up 80% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
Demons
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Puzzle; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 21,108 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $5.5k, 1 in 20 over $72k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 134 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 248 games are announced against 127 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorFair57 devs · median $8.2k · 53 announced
  2. + Medical SimFair17 devs · median $6.1k · 27 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair40 devs · median $3.6k · 54 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair161 devs · median $1.8k · 150 announced
  5. + VampiresFair46 devs · median $1.7k · 37 announced
  6. + CatsFair281 devs · median $1.2k · 334 announced
  7. + God GameFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  8. + RomanceFair209 devs · median $1.0k · 251 announced
  9. + AutomationFair135 devs · median $1.0k · 164 announced
  10. + Tower DefenseFair64 devs · median $1.0k · 67 announced
  11. + LemmingsFair13 devs · median $959 · 11 announced
  12. + CookingFair77 devs · median $958 · 92 announced

All 246 pairs on the Puzzle page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Coffin of Andy and Leyley · EA older $11.99 36,603 96% 1.1M $13M (exactly $13,166,099) Kit9 Studio
Darksiders Warmastered Edition older $19.99 13,942 88% 418k $8.4M (exactly $8,361,017) KAIKO, Vigil Games
Ghost Watchers $14.99 12,729 86% 382k $5.7M (exactly $5,724,231) Renderise
MADiSON older $34.99 3,007 87% 90k $3.2M (exactly $3,156,448) BLOODIOUS GAMES
Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered $29.99 3,042 90% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,736,887) Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics
Sally Face - Episode One older $2.99 27,502 97% 825k $2.5M (exactly $2,466,929) Portable Moose
Pony Island older $4.99 14,783 95% 443k $2.2M (exactly $2,213,015) Daniel Mullins Games
Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel older $29.99 1,558 83% 47k $1.4M (exactly $1,401,733) Pulsatrix Studios
Shadows: Awakening older $29.99 1,535 75% 46k $1.4M (exactly $1,381,040) Games Farm
Lucius II older $19.99 1,910 61% 57k $1.1M (exactly $1,145,427) Shiver Games
Ghost Town $24.99 565 95% 17k $424k (exactly $423,580) Fireproof Games
Paranoia Place: Escape Together $7.99 1,555 87% 47k $373k (exactly $372,734) Bloody Pixel Games
Necrophosis $15.99 722 89% 22k $346k (exactly $346,343) Dragonis Ares, Adonis Brosteanu
Demons' Timeline $10.99 1,046 97% 31k $345k (exactly $344,866) DigitalCats
DYSTHANASIA $24.99 334 88% 10k $250k (exactly $250,400) Madowaku Kobo
HELLSEED: All Chapters $19.99 265 73% 8.0k $159k (exactly $158,920) Profenix Studio SRLS
Cursed Digicam | 呪われたデジカメ $7.99 611 78% 18k $146k (exactly $146,457) Chilla's Art
Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To $19.99 239 94% 7.2k $143k (exactly $143,328) Soft Not Weak, LLC

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.