Games › Exploration › Exploration + Noir
Should I ship a Noir Exploration game?
Exploration + Noir
Of 133 developers who shipped a Noir 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.. 281 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 $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×304 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 281 games are announced against 82 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
| Top 25% | $9.4k (exactly $9,352) |
| Top 5% | $145k (exactly $144,528) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 133 |
| Released games | 377 |
| Announced | 281 |
| 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 down 45% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Noir
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Investigation
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 4,513 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 65 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 281 games are announced against 82 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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
Disco Elysium - The Final Cut 2019 · $142M 
Word Game 2022 · $6.2M 
INDIKA 2024 · $5.3M 
Tangle Tower 2019 · $3.9M 
Blacksad: Under the Skin 2019 · $3.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Disco Elysium - The Final Cut | older | $39.99 | 118,124 92% | 3.5M | $142M (exactly $141,713,363) | ZA/UM |
| | Word Game | older | $34.99 | 5,930 93% | 178k | $6.2M (exactly $6,224,721) | Team9 |
| | INDIKA | older | $24.99 | 7,034 89% | 211k | $5.3M (exactly $5,273,390) | Odd Meter |
| | Tangle Tower | older | $19.99 | 6,483 94% | 194k | $3.9M (exactly $3,887,855) | SFB Games |
| | Blacksad: Under the Skin | older | $19.99 | 5,356 83% | 161k | $3.2M (exactly $3,211,993) | Pendulo Studios, YS Interactive |
 | This Bed We Made | older | $24.99 | 3,187 90% | 96k | $2.4M (exactly $2,389,294) | Lowbirth Games |
 | Lorelei and the Laser Eyes | older | $24.99 | 3,108 93% | 93k | $2.3M (exactly $2,330,068) | Simogo |
 | Tales of the Neon Sea | older | $16.99 | 3,853 84% | 116k | $2.0M (exactly $1,963,874) | YiTi Games |
 | IMMORTALITY | older | $19.99 | 1,768 84% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,060,270) | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid |
 | Gamedec - Definitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 1,119 78% | 34k | $1.0M (exactly $1,006,764) | Anshar Studios |
 | In Sink: A Co-op Escape Adventure | $14.99 | 1,432 86% | 43k | $644k (exactly $643,970) | Clock Out Games | |
 | LumineNight | $24.99 | 515 87% | 15k | $386k (exactly $386,096) | Spickasoft | |
 | The Posthumous Investigation | $19.99 | 554 94% | 17k | $332k (exactly $332,234) | Mother Gaia Studio | |
 | Radiolight | $14.99 | 414 90% | 12k | $186k (exactly $186,176) | Krystof Knesl | |
 | Mind Diver | $17.99 | 316 94% | 9.5k | $171k (exactly $170,545) | Indoor Sunglasses | |
 | Vaudeville | $19.99 | 283 48% | 8.5k | $170k (exactly $169,715) | Bumblebee Studios | |
 | The 7th Guest Remake | $19.99 | 241 86% | 7.2k | $145k (exactly $144,528) | Vertigo Games, Exkee | |
 | Lightracer: For Judge | $9.99 | 462 92% | 14k | $138k (exactly $138,461) | Smartmelon Games | |
 | The Last Case of John Morley | $12.99 | 222 77% | 6.7k | $87k (exactly $86,513) | Indigo Studios - Interactive Stories | |
 | 文字遊戯(日本語版) | $34.99 | 74 90% | 2.2k | $78k (exactly $77,678) | Team9, ESQUADRA,inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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