Do I ship it?

GamesVisual NovelVisual Novel + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Visual Novel?

Visual Novel + Demons

Of 120 developers who shipped a Demon Visual Novel 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.. 134 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×5.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×302 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 134 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 134 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Visual Novel + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 120
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.6k → $15k → $7.0k → $2.5k → $3.8k → $4.0k → $2.5k (still earning) → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Visual Novel + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 120
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,242)
Top 5% $143k (exactly $143,328)
Developers, 2 yr 120
Released games 342
Announced 134
Effort 4 / 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 55% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Visual Novel
effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
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
Visual Novel; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Multiple Endings, Choices Matter
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.66 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.66 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 8,444 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 9 in 10 of the 80 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 134 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds166 devs · median $54k · 146 announced
  2. + City BuilderStrong odds10 devs · median $19k · 8 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds27 devs · median $18k · 24 announced
  4. + TrainsStrong odds12 devs · median $8.0k · 5 announced
  5. + Souls-likeFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair20 devs · median $22k · 19 announced
  7. + RhythmFair38 devs · median $18k · 52 announced
  8. + JRPGFair219 devs · median $13k · 265 announced
  9. + Immersive SimFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  10. + SwordplayFair13 devs · median $5.7k · 10 announced
  11. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $5.7k · 12 announced
  12. + DiplomacyFair16 devs · median $5.4k · 19 announced

All 188 pairs on the Visual Novel 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
Monster Prom older $11.99 12,245 93% 367k $4.4M (exactly $4,404,526) Beautiful Glitch
Soul Hackers 2 older $59.99 2,300 65% 69k $4.1M (exactly $4,139,310) ATLUS
The Thaumaturge older $34.99 3,888 81% 117k $4.1M (exactly $4,081,234) Fool's Theory
BAD END THEATER older $9.99 8,877 97% 266k $2.7M (exactly $2,660,437) NomnomNami
The Ditzy Demons Are in Love With Me older $24.99 1,469 96% 44k $1.1M (exactly $1,101,309) SMILE
Forbidden Solitaire $15.99 2,245 96% 67k $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertai… (Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertainment)
DevilConnection $16.66 1,951 98% 59k $975k (exactly $975,110) ChaoGames
Lucy Got Problems older $7.99 1,825 87% 55k $437k (exactly $437,452) Nupu Neko Dev, Flat Chest Dev
Demonheart older $19.99 714 89% 21k $428k (exactly $428,186) Rolling Crown
Demons' Timeline $10.99 1,046 97% 31k $345k (exactly $344,866) DigitalCats
Forbidden Fantasy $6.99 1,459 88% 44k $306k (exactly $305,952) OppaiMan Studios
FUTA RUNNER: Big Dick Edition $6.99 733 66% 22k $154k (exactly $153,710) Evil Boobs Cult
Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To $19.99 239 94% 7.2k $143k (exactly $143,328) Soft Not Weak, LLC
Puppet House $17.99 189 89% 5.7k $102k (exactly $102,003) Vecube Studio, Spirit Games Studio
Married Into Hell $11.99 265 80% 8.0k $95k (exactly $95,320) WorkNite Games
Demonheart: The Cursed Trial $24.99 115 90% 3.5k $86k (exactly $86,216) Rolling Crown
Heart of the Forest $12.99 202 70% 6.1k $79k (exactly $78,719) Trapped Predator

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