Games › Exploration › Exploration + Music
Should I ship a Music Exploration game?
Exploration + Music
Of 36 developers who shipped a Music 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.. 78 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×12 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×1324 the market median. Revenue is up 185% on the market; 78 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $598 (exactly $598) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.7k (exactly $5,689) |
| Top 25% | $56k (exactly $55,772) |
| Top 5% | $629k (exactly $629,130) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 172 |
| Announced | 78 |
| 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 up 185% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Music
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
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-Adventure, Action
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $27.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Atmospheric, Third Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $27.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 11,235 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
Journey 2020 · $16M 
TOEM: A Photo Adventure 2021 · $5.8M 
In Sound Mind 2021 · $5.7M 
UNBEATABLE 2025 · $5.5M 
The Pathless 2021 · $2.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Journey | older | $14.99 | 34,805 94% | 1.0M | $16M (exactly $15,651,808) | thatgamecompany |
| | TOEM: A Photo Adventure | older | $19.99 | 9,688 99% | 291k | $5.8M (exactly $5,809,894) | Something We Made |
| | In Sound Mind | older | $34.99 | 5,467 95% | 164k | $5.7M (exactly $5,738,710) | We Create Stuff |
| | UNBEATABLE | $27.99 | 6,552 92% | 197k | $5.5M (exactly $5,501,714) | D-CELL GAMES | |
| | The Pathless | older | $39.99 | 1,944 90% | 58k | $2.3M (exactly $2,332,217) | Giant Squid |
 | No Straight Roads: Encore Edition | older | $24.99 | 1,813 89% | 54k | $1.4M (exactly $1,359,206) | Metronomik |
 | Wandersong | older | $19.99 | 2,185 96% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,310,344) | Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, A Shell in… (Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, A Shell in the Pit) |
 | Kholat | older | $19.99 | 2,036 67% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,220,989) | IMGN.PRO |
 | The Artful Escape | older | $19.99 | 1,801 91% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,080,060) | Beethoven and Dinosaur |
 | The Unfinished Swan | older | $14.99 | 1,888 83% | 57k | $849k (exactly $849,034) | Giant Sparrow |
 | Fretless - The Wrath of Riffson | $14.99 | 1,399 98% | 42k | $629k (exactly $629,130) | Ritual Studios | |
 | Wheel World | $19.99 | 735 90% | 22k | $441k (exactly $440,779) | Messhof | |
 | Mr. Sleepy Man | $19.99 | 636 98% | 19k | $381k (exactly $381,409) | Devin Santi | |
 | Metro Gravity | $12.99 | 852 92% | 26k | $332k (exactly $332,024) | mrkogamedev | |
 | Star Overdrive | $34.99 | 141 87% | 4.2k | $148k (exactly $148,008) | Caracal Games | |
 | Dark Pals: The 1st Floor | $6.70 | 700 87% | 21k | $141k (exactly $140,700) | Skunx Games | |
 | Magic Tiny Lands | $29.99 | 86 90% | 2.6k | $77k (exactly $77,374) | Galactic Geckon | |
 | GRIDbeat! | $19.99 | 93 100% | 2.8k | $56k (exactly $55,772) | Ridiculous Games | |
 | Barbie Project Friendship™ | $39.99 | 41 80% | 1.2k | $49k (exactly $49,188) | Xaloc Studios, Casual Brothers Ltd. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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