Do I ship it?

GamesDynamic NarrationDynamic Narration + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller Dynamic Narration game?

Dynamic Narration + Thriller

Of 21 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 53 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $990, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $41k, ×87 the market median. Revenue is up 3490% on the market; 53 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 3490% on the market, 53 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dynamic Narration + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.0k → $8.6k → $5.1k → $179 → $628 → $8.0k → $5.4k (still earning) → $25k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dynamic Narration + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $989 (exactly $989)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,558)
Top 5% $41k (exactly $41,228)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 64
Announced 53
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 3490% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Dynamic Narration
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Thriller
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Dynamic Narration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Simulation
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Dark, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 916 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $990, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $41k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 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
Beyond: Two Souls older $19.99 37,154 87% 1.1M $22M (exactly $22,281,254) Quantic Dream
Heavy Rain older $19.99 26,503 85% 795k $16M (exactly $15,893,849) Quantic Dream
BURIED STARS older $39.99 2,117 83% 64k $2.5M (exactly $2,539,765) LINE Games Corporation
Martha Is Dead older $29.99 2,700 78% 81k $2.4M (exactly $2,429,190) LKA
Eternal Threads older $19.99 543 87% 16k $326k (exactly $325,637) Cosmonaut Studios
Saturnalia older $29.99 116 91% 3.5k $104k (exactly $104,365) Santa Ragione
Psych older $9.99 318 79% 9.5k $95k (exactly $95,305) MediaTale
The Floor Above $12.99 217 88% 6.5k $85k (exactly $84,565) Swytapp Games
A.D. 2047 older $19.99 79 62% 2.4k $47k (exactly $47,376) Leenzee Games
Family curse older $6.99 222 90% 6.7k $47k (exactly $46,553) Stork Game
Rehaunted $7.99 172 66% 5.2k $41k (exactly $41,228) Cauchemar
Backseat $9.99 85 71% 2.6k $25k (exactly $25,474) HOGO Games
Irreversible · EA $19.99 41 92% 1.2k $25k (exactly $24,588) Delusional Reality Studio
BABULYA $3.99 106 85% 3.2k $13k (exactly $12,688) REVVALUTION Studio
Hank: Drowning On Dry Land $2.99 140 95% 4.2k $13k (exactly $12,558) My Next Games
DEATH TRAIN!!! Samara – Voronezh. $2.99 89 89% 2.7k $8.0k (exactly $7,983) mitcha
The Window 8:Millennium $4.99 36 77% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) AfterTee
REARVIEW MIRROR $11.99 9 88% 270 $3.2k (exactly $3,237) CUBUS GAMES SL
回煞录 | Phantom Reckoning $1.99 21 66% 630 $1.3k (exactly $1,254) Archimedes Nicholas Xia

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