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Should I ship an Exploration Dynamic Narration game?
Exploration + Dynamic Narration
Of 98 developers who shipped an Exploration Dynamic Narration 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.. 218 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×563 the market median. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 218 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,615) |
| Top 25% | $5.0k (exactly $5,034) |
| Top 5% | $267k (exactly $267,466) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 98 |
| Released games | 273 |
| Announced | 218 |
| 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 100% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Dynamic Narration
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration, Dynamic Narration; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Multiple Endings, Simulation
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 19,925 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 218 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
The Stanley Parable 2013 · $18M 
Road 96 🛣️ 2021 · $13M 
Drova - Forsaken Kin 2024 · $7.1M 
Mandate Of Heaven 2025 · $2.4M 
Martha Is Dead 2022 · $2.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Stanley Parable | older | $14.99 | 40,292 92% | 1.2M | $18M (exactly $18,119,312) | Galactic Cafe |
| | Road 96 🛣️ | older | $19.96 | 22,118 91% | 664k | $13M (exactly $13,244,258) | Digixart |
| | Drova - Forsaken Kin | $24.99 | 9,455 93% | 284k | $7.1M (exactly $7,088,414) | Just2D | |
| | Mandate Of Heaven | $14.99 | 5,446 91% | 163k | $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) | 木焱工作室 | |
| | Martha Is Dead | older | $29.99 | 2,700 78% | 81k | $2.4M (exactly $2,429,190) | LKA |
 | Curious Expedition 2 | older | $19.99 | 3,861 88% | 116k | $2.3M (exactly $2,315,442) | Maschinen-Mensch |
 | Curious Expedition | older | $14.99 | 3,951 91% | 119k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,765) | Maschinen-Mensch |
 | Outcast - A New Beginning | older | $39.99 | 1,232 78% | 37k | $1.5M (exactly $1,478,030) | Appeal Studios |
 | The Town of Light | older | $18.99 | 2,052 79% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,169,024) | LKA |
 | Event[0] | older | $19.99 | 1,449 79% | 43k | $869k (exactly $868,965) | Ocelot Society |
 | GEX Trilogy | $29.99 | 332 71% | 10k | $299k (exactly $298,700) | Limited Run Games, Crystal Dynamics | |
 | RATSHAKER™ | $2.99 | 3,011 92% | 90k | $270k (exactly $270,087) | Sunscorched Studios | |
 | Under The Island | $19.99 | 446 92% | 13k | $267k (exactly $267,466) | Slime King Games | |
 | GlitchSPANKR | $19.99 | 275 96% | 8.3k | $165k (exactly $164,918) | Mahelyk, TheClassifiedX | |
 | Heaven Does Not Respond | $9.99 | 530 90% | 16k | $159k (exactly $158,841) | Rise Studios | |
 | The Floor Above | $12.99 | 217 88% | 6.5k | $85k (exactly $84,565) | Swytapp Games | |
 | Throne of Monsters 怪物的王座 | $12.99 | 130 92% | 3.9k | $51k (exactly $50,661) | 雏形游戏 | |
 | Inspector Schmidt - The Ebbing | $19.99 | 83 87% | 2.5k | $50k (exactly $49,775) | Active Fungus Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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