Do I ship it?

GamesWord GameWord Game + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 48.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 24 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Word Game + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $138k → $1.8k → $23k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Word Game + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
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.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI
Dystopian
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
Word Game
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 7,859 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $23k, 1 in 4 over $150k, 1 in 20 over $2.0M.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Word Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SurvivalFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  2. + TacticalFair23 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  3. + Point & ClickFair60 devs · median $1.6k · 56 announced
  4. + LootFair15 devs · median $1.6k · 8 announced
  5. + AutomationFair12 devs · median $1.6k · 11 announced
  6. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair55 devs · median $1.4k · 65 announced
  7. + DetectiveFair82 devs · median $1.3k · 90 announced
  8. + Procedural GenerationFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair18 devs · median $1.2k · 16 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair29 devs · median $1.2k · 26 announced
  11. + IncrementalFair91 devs · median $1.2k · 77 announced
  12. + NatureFair12 devs · median $1.0k · 8 announced

All 98 pairs on the Word Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.