Do I ship it?

GamesDynamic NarrationDynamic Narration + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Dynamic Narration game?

Dynamic Narration + Sci-fi

Of 37 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 76 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $420, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×528 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 76 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 76 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dynamic Narration + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $18k → $8.6k → $2.4k → $1.5k → $299 → $2.5k → $2.7k (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dynamic Narration + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $419 (exactly $419)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,967)
Top 5% $251k (exactly $251,011)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 106
Announced 76
Effort 4 / 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 20% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Dynamic Narration
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Sci-fi
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
Dynamic Narration; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Puzzle
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Dialogue Heavy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 3,042 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $420, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Dynamic Narration with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SportsStrong odds17 devs · median $4.2k · 9 announced
  2. + IncrementalFair19 devs · median $4.0k · 14 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $3.0k · 17 announced
  4. + ModernFair15 devs · median $1.0k · 18 announced
  5. + TacticalFair13 devs · median $899 · 16 announced
  6. + LGBTQ+Poor odds12 devs · median $8.2k · 22 announced
  7. + RoguelikePoor odds11 devs · median $7.8k · 35 announced
  8. + RoguelitePoor odds10 devs · median $7.8k · 42 announced
  9. + Word GamePoor odds10 devs · median $5.2k · 17 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $4.4k · 40 announced
  11. + RomancePoor odds31 devs · median $4.2k · 50 announced
  12. + ManagementPoor odds21 devs · median $3.6k · 56 announced

All 84 pairs on the Dynamic Narration page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Detroit: Become Human older $39.99 226,411 96% 6.8M $272M (exactly $271,625,277) Quantic Dream
Beyond: Two Souls older $19.99 37,154 87% 1.1M $22M (exactly $22,281,254) Quantic Dream
Observer: System Redux older $29.99 2,462 84% 74k $2.2M (exactly $2,215,061) Bloober Team, Anshar Studios
Outcast - A New Beginning older $39.99 1,232 78% 37k $1.5M (exactly $1,478,030) Appeal Studios
Event[0] older $19.99 1,449 79% 43k $869k (exactly $868,965) Ocelot Society
The Deadly Tower of Monsters older $14.99 1,063 89% 32k $478k (exactly $478,031) ACE Team
The Message from Deep Space $9.99 1,453 96% 44k $435k (exactly $435,464) Applesinmypants
Lightmatter older $19.99 691 94% 21k $414k (exactly $414,393) Tunnel Vision Games
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure older $19.99 628 90% 19k $377k (exactly $376,612) Big Finish Games
The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation · EA older $29.99 397 63% 12k $357k (exactly $357,181) Supercube
TR-49 $6.99 1,197 94% 36k $251k (exactly $251,011) inkle Ltd
Astrumis - Survive Together $9.99 139 70% 4.2k $42k (exactly $41,658) Tyci
Endless Dark $7.99 115 99% 3.5k $28k (exactly $27,566) Little Light Studios, LLC
Irreversible · EA $19.99 41 92% 1.2k $25k (exactly $24,588) Delusional Reality Studio
Steel Knight's ARMIS $9.99 40 57% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,988) Izanami Game Lab, Inc., FORCES
Assault Armored Girls War Vasileia $9.99 21 71% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) studio core
ORBITAL $9.99 12 66% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Night Sky Dogs
Lap of the Gods: A Visual Novel $7.99 13 100% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Muda Games
Blêktre 2081 $8.99 11 100% 330 $3.0k (exactly $2,967) Charles Torris

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