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Should I ship a Procedural Generation Dynamic Narration game?
Procedural Generation + Dynamic Narration
Of 22 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation 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.. 55 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $17k, ×37 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 55 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $4.1k (exactly $4,133) |
| Top 5% | $18k (exactly $17,738) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 49 |
| Announced | 55 |
| 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 170% on the market, supply 75% more developers than 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.
- Procedural Generation
- 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
- Procedural Generation, Dynamic Narration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Choices Matter, Grand Strategy
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 2.5D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 228 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Procedural Generation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SnowFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + DetectiveFair
- + Word GameFair
- + TypingFair
- + IdlerFair
- + LogicFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
Road 96 🛣️ 2021 · $13M 
Curious Expedition 2 2021 · $2.3M 
Curious Expedition 2016 · $1.8M 
CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience 2020 · $1.6M 
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter 2023 · $767k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Road 96 🛣️ | older | $19.96 | 22,118 91% | 664k | $13M (exactly $13,244,258) | Digixart |
| | 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 |
| | CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience | older | $19.99 | 2,596 91% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,821) | Delve Interactive |
| | Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter | older | $29.99 | 852 73% | 26k | $767k (exactly $766,544) | Iron Wolf Studio S.A. |
 | The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation | · EA older | $29.99 | 397 63% | 12k | $357k (exactly $357,181) | Supercube |
 | Ed-0: Zombie Uprising | older | $29.99 | 211 72% | 6.3k | $190k (exactly $189,837) | LANCARSE |
 | Thought Experiment Simulator | older | $4.99 | 620 81% | 19k | $93k (exactly $92,814) | HoHo Game Studio |
 | Linguist FPS - The Language Learning FPS | older | $14.99 | 192 71% | 5.8k | $86k (exactly $86,342) | Rocket Boy Games |
 | Wizards and Warlords | older | $9.99 | 253 82% | 7.6k | $76k (exactly $75,824) | Valravn Games |
 | Lethal Honor - Order of the Apocalypse | $24.99 | 29 96% | 870 | $22k (exactly $21,741) | Viral Studios | |
 | Observe | · EA | $7.99 | 74 91% | 2.2k | $18k (exactly $17,738) | Kisotik Games |
 | Command by Voice: World Conquest | · EA | $9.99 | 19 52% | 570 | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) | Side Meicai |
 | Primage | · EA | $6.99 | 21 76% | 630 | $4.4k (exactly $4,404) | Fadzior |
 | Ironblood | · EA | $19.99 | 7 71% | 210 | $4.2k (exactly $4,198) | Jack Wilds |
 | RolemIAster | · EA | $5.99 | 23 56% | 690 | $4.1k (exactly $4,133) | ABAFE |
 | Octopus Goulash | $12.99 | 10 70% | 300 | $3.9k (exactly $3,897) | Alessio Serenellini | |
 | Unfair Rampage: Knightfall | $5.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | Imphenzia | |
 | Neverending AI Storybook | $2.49 | 27 62% | 810 | $2.0k (exactly $2,017) | MRA Labs LLC | |
 | Vonkelveld | · EA | $14.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | Software MoosS |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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