Do I ship it?

GamesExplorationExploration + Faith

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Faith Exploration game?

Exploration + Faith

Of 60 developers who shipped a Faith Exploration 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.. 104 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $810, ×1.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×271 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 104 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 104 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Exploration + Faith
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 60
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $599 → $1.5k → $1.4k → $838 → $716 → $807 (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Exploration + Faith: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 60
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $807 (exactly $807)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,074)
Top 5% $129k (exactly $128,614)
Developers, 2 yr 60
Released games 152
Announced 104
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 95% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Exploration
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Faith
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Exploration; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 3,063 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $810, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 104 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair22 devs · median $8.1k · 26 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair31 devs · median $6.7k · 42 announced
  3. + SpaceshipsFair22 devs · median $3.5k · 28 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair122 devs · median $2.2k · 109 announced
  5. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 24 announced
  6. + WuxiaPoor odds12 devs · median $192k · 35 announced
  7. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds23 devs · median $82k · 61 announced
  8. + Martial ArtsPoor odds25 devs · median $69k · 90 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds146 devs · median $58k · 354 announced
  10. + MMORPGPoor odds24 devs · median $52k · 213 announced
  11. + FMVPoor odds45 devs · median $27k · 76 announced
  12. + FarmingPoor odds41 devs · median $24k · 58 announced

All 258 pairs on the Exploration page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Touhou Luna Nights older $17.99 13,776 97% 413k $7.4M (exactly $7,434,907) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Gensokyo Night Festival · EA older $12.99 4,497 69% 135k $1.8M (exactly $1,752,481) WSS playground, tea_basira
I Am Jesus Christ $19.99 1,486 87% 45k $891k (exactly $891,154) Space Boat Studios
Touhou Artificial Dream in Arcadia older $9.99 1,157 96% 35k $347k (exactly $346,753) Bar Holographic Otaku
SUFFOCATE $16.99 272 83% 8.2k $139k (exactly $138,638) Naughty Cow
The Mildew Children older $9.99 458 92% 14k $137k (exactly $137,263) The Growing Stones
Marisa of Liartop Mountain $14.99 286 84% 8.6k $129k (exactly $128,614) Alliance Arts, UnknownX
YuuYuu Jiteki no Yuukarin older $15.99 262 91% 7.9k $126k (exactly $125,681) NUU
[DE:]Fanastasis older $19.99 177 96% 5.3k $106k (exactly $106,147) Mosamosa
SANAE's Sylphid Breeze $19.99 175 84% 5.3k $105k (exactly $104,947) sorehodoh
Holy Whore Emily $11.99 182 75% 5.5k $65k (exactly $65,465) Asami
Idle Chapel $6.99 205 78% 6.2k $43k (exactly $42,988) Outer Choir
Herbals tycoon · EA $9.99 123 76% 3.7k $37k (exactly $36,863) Orange Paper Studio
Touhou Rinrinki ~ Crafts of the Lucky Beast · EA $9.99 117 92% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,065) Starcrow Dev
Ritus Exorcismus $5.99 138 99% 4.1k $25k (exactly $24,799) Dernhelm Games
Besmirch · EA $9.99 79 97% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) Gangru Games

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