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Should I ship a Dragon Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Dragons
Only 4 developers shipped a Dragon Metroidvania in the last 2 years. Over 4 years, 16 did: 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.. 23 more are announced, ×12 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
Only 2 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.8k against a market of $630. 23 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) |
| Top 5% | $23M (exactly $22,687,421) |
| Developers, 4 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 26 |
| Announced | 23 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Dragons
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 4 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 75,258 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 23 games are announced against 2 developers who shipped in the last year, ×12 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights | older | $24.99 | 43,092 93% | 1.3M | $32M (exactly $32,306,072) | Live Wire, Adglobe |
| | ASTLIBRA Revision | older | $24.99 | 30,262 95% | 908k | $23M (exactly $22,687,421) | KEIZO |
| | Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus | older | $19.99 | 1,398 82% | 42k | $838k (exactly $838,381) | Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair,… (Squid Shock Studios, Christopher Stair, Trevor Youngquist) |
| | Beholgar | older | $8.99 | 343 76% | 10k | $93k (exactly $92,507) | Serkan Bakar |
| | Adventure of Samsara | $19.99 | 66 89% | 2.0k | $40k (exactly $39,580) | Ilex Games | |
| | Draco Knight | older | $14.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $8.1k (exactly $8,095) | TeamHen |
| | Mythic Dungeons | older | $8.99 | 29 34% | 870 | $7.8k (exactly $7,821) | Eurus Game Studio |
| | Insect Adventure | older | $9.99 | 24 83% | 720 | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) | MAYO-FORCE LLC |
| | Legends of Dionysos | older | $9.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) | TheGamingVan |
| | VonGarland Castle : Sacrilege of the Night | older | $9.99 | 13 53% | 390 | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) | Ash Jackson |
| | Duil | $11.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | JL studio | |
| | STEAM TRIGGER | $14.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $450 (exactly $450) | x-climb Inc. | |
| | INFEROS NUMINE : descent into darkness | $1.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | 2.5D Gaming Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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