Games › Economy › Economy + Quick-Time Events
Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Economy game?
Economy + Quick-Time Events
Of 20 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events Economy 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.. 15 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $480k, ×773 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 15 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 25% | $6.9k (exactly $6,920) |
| Top 5% | $486k (exactly $485,665) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 27 |
| Announced | 15 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Economy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Quick-Time Events
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy, Quick-Time Events; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Resource Management
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Colorful, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 5,953 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Thriving City: Song | older | $18.99 | 3,054 81% | 92k | $1.7M (exactly $1,739,864) | White Star Studio |
| | Lost But Found | $6.99 | 2,316 71% | 69k | $486k (exactly $485,665) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
| | Cornerpond | $2.99 | 2,567 97% | 77k | $230k (exactly $230,260) | foolsroom | |
| | Bugtopia | $5.99 | 866 92% | 26k | $156k (exactly $155,620) | Nocturnal Games | |
| | Dollar | older | $0.99 | 1,051 79% | 32k | $31k (exactly $31,215) | DollarDev |
| | Randoville | · EA older | $14.99 | 63 63% | 1.9k | $28k (exactly $28,331) | AVE Team |
| | Portobugia | older | $7.99 | 84 83% | 2.5k | $20k (exactly $20,135) | Bogland Studio |
| | Mini City: Mayhem | $5.99 | 64 81% | 1.9k | $12k (exactly $11,501) | Rogue Duck Interactive, cukuto | |
| | Crypto Trading Simulator | · EA | $6.99 | 33 75% | 990 | $6.9k (exactly $6,920) | SUMER |
| | Sin Slayers: Meat & Greed | $2.99 | 55 52% | 1.7k | $4.9k (exactly $4,934) | Goonswarm Games | |
| | Hydro | $8.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $4.3k (exactly $4,315) | Harman Motor Works | |
| | I Can Only Speak Doner | $4.99 | 16 87% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) | Fokaia Studio | |
| | Fomo-trading | $4.99 | 12 25% | 360 | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) | 明夜 | |
| | Popup.exe | $2.99 | 8 87% | 240 | $718 (exactly $718) | Monu |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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