Games › Word Game › Word Game + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian Word Game?
Word Game + Dystopian
Only 12 developers shipped a Dystopian Word Game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $23k, ×49 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×4259 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 24 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $23k (exactly $23,251) |
| Top 25% | $158k (exactly $157,904) |
| Top 5% | $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 25 |
| Announced | 24 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 down 100% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Word Game
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 7,859 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Word Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SurvivalFair
- + TacticalFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LootFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Choose Your Own AdventureFair
- + DetectiveFair
- + Procedural GenerationFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + NatureFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator | $12.99 | 5,191 92% | 156k | $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) | Aluba Van+ | |
| | 7 Days to End with You | older | $7.99 | 3,327 87% | 100k | $797k (exactly $797,482) | Lizardry |
| | Pronoun Palace | $19.84 | 1,249 99% | 37k | $743k (exactly $743,405) | Cadence Petersen, Hazel Fackler | |
| | Anomalous Coffee Machine 2 | $6.99 | 753 81% | 23k | $158k (exactly $157,904) | HoruBrain Interactive | |
| | Lightracer: For Judge | $9.99 | 462 92% | 14k | $138k (exactly $138,461) | Smartmelon Games | |
| | UncleOffice:uncle Dating Simulator | $15.99 | 92 61% | 2.8k | $44k (exactly $44,132) | GameUncle | |
| | 場外人生 | · EA older | $2.99 | 315 90% | 9.5k | $28k (exactly $28,256) | YuruOwO |
| | 无名者 | $7.99 | 97 95% | 2.9k | $23k (exactly $23,251) | Origincourtyard世界庭院, 三七洛九 | |
| | Encoded War | older | $11.99 | 48 77% | 1.4k | $17k (exactly $17,266) | Somnolent Team |
| | Geckorientalism | older | $8.99 | 23 100% | 690 | $6.2k (exactly $6,203) | 蓝血与尖耳朵 |
| | CRYPTOBIOSIS | $9.99 | 6 50% | 180 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | 陈高远狠活工作室 | |
| | DECRYPTO Project | $5.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $1.1k (exactly $1,078) | slothJam | |
| | 致恶灵的你(To You, the Evil Spirit) | · EA | $9.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $300 (exactly $300) | 黑兔 |
| | Columbus | $0.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $59 (exactly $59) | ZHANG CHUNNING |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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