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Should I ship a Magic Destruction game?
Destruction + Magic
Of 22 developers who shipped a Magic Destruction 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.. 68 more are announced, ×4.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×458 the market median. Revenue is up 260% on the market; 68 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $958 (exactly $958) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,250) |
| Top 5% | $288k (exactly $287,856) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 73 |
| Announced | 68 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 260% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Destruction
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Magic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Destruction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Base Building, Building
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 2,345 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Destruction with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Space SimFair
- + ModernFair
- + God GameFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Hack and SlashPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + CapitalismPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Automobile SimPoor odds
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Spirit Island | older | $24.99 | 1,545 91% | 46k | $1.2M (exactly $1,158,286) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
| | 9 Days | older | $14.99 | 2,198 72% | 66k | $988k (exactly $988,441) | MVR |
| | Conan Unconquered | older | $19.99 | 1,203 70% | 36k | $721k (exactly $721,439) | Petroglyph |
| | Lay of the Land | $19.99 | 1,190 79% | 36k | $714k (exactly $713,643) | Southern Cross Interactive | |
| | 我在地球修仙有系统 | older | $14.99 | 959 70% | 29k | $431k (exactly $431,262) | 红星 |
| | Fictorum | older | $9.99 | 1,034 78% | 31k | $310k (exactly $309,890) | Scraping Bottom Games |
| | Demigod | older | $9.99 | 1,011 75% | 30k | $303k (exactly $302,997) | Gas Powered Games |
| | Castle Craft | $19.99 | 480 82% | 14k | $288k (exactly $287,856) | Twin Earth | |
| | DYSPLACED | · EA | $24.99 | 296 87% | 8.9k | $222k (exactly $221,911) | 10tons Ltd |
| | PROJEKT GODHAND | $15.80 | 158 96% | 4.7k | $75k (exactly $74,892) | Anarch Entertainment | |
| | Masks of the Void: Origins | $14.99 | 108 97% | 3.2k | $49k (exactly $48,568) | ROLLDBOX GAMES | |
| | ARKOS 2 | $12.99 | 34 91% | 1.0k | $13k (exactly $13,250) | RetroSouls | |
| | Hail the Devourer | $4.99 | 36 66% | 1.1k | $5.4k (exactly $5,389) | Anchorhead Games | |
| | Spire Blast | $6.99 | 17 100% | 510 | $3.6k (exactly $3,565) | Orbital Knight | |
| | Bat Blast! | $7.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) | Cyan Sundae | |
| | Deer Hero | $3.99 | 16 93% | 480 | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) | Nyoro |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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