Games › Exploration › Exploration + Romance
Should I ship a Romance Exploration game?
Exploration + Romance
Of 231 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 355 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.2k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×921 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 355 games are announced against 109 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.2k (exactly $5,242) |
| Top 25% | $44k (exactly $44,461) |
| Top 5% | $437k (exactly $437,395) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 231 |
| Released games | 591 |
| Announced | 355 |
| 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 40% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Romance
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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 RPG, Adventure, Dating Sim
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 27,984 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 7 in 10 of the 144 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 355 games are announced against 109 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition 2017 · $244M 
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition 2021 · $51M 
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire 2018 · $8.8M 
FINAL FANTASY IX 2016 · $7.8M 
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew 2023 · $6.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition | older | $44.99 | 180,782 95% | 5.4M | $244M (exactly $244,001,465) | Larian Studios |
| | Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition | older | $49.99 | 34,157 83% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,225,253) | Owlcat Games |
| | Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire | older | $19.99 | 14,659 87% | 440k | $8.8M (exactly $8,791,002) | Obsidian Entertainment |
| | FINAL FANTASY IX | older | $20.99 | 12,447 95% | 373k | $7.8M (exactly $7,837,876) | Square Enix |
| | Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew | older | $39.99 | 5,190 91% | 156k | $6.2M (exactly $6,226,443) | Mimimi Games |
 | Gone Home | older | $14.99 | 13,619 77% | 409k | $6.1M (exactly $6,124,464) | Fullbright |
 | Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma | $59.99 | 2,947 88% | 88k | $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716) | Marvelous Inc. | |
 | Haven | older | $24.99 | 5,294 88% | 159k | $4.0M (exactly $3,968,912) | The Game Bakers |
 | Caribbean Legend | older | $39.99 | 2,860 74% | 86k | $3.4M (exactly $3,431,142) | BlackMark Studio |
 | The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall | $11.99 | 8,227 58% | 247k | $3.0M (exactly $2,959,252) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) | |
 | Tales of Seikyu | $24.99 | 2,179 83% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,633,596) | ACE Entertainment | |
 | Matchmaking Inc. | $8.99 | 5,773 87% | 173k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) | Wave Games | |
 | GreedFall: The Dying World | $49.99 | 1,027 61% | 31k | $1.5M (exactly $1,540,192) | Spiders | |
 | 灾厄黑龙与谎言公主 | $9.99 | 3,682 90% | 110k | $1.1M (exactly $1,103,495) | 莓夜工作室 | |
 | Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny | $29.99 | 663 85% | 20k | $597k (exactly $596,501) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | Incantation | $16.99 | 1,106 73% | 33k | $564k (exactly $563,728) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT | |
 | To Pixelia | $14.99 | 1,194 73% | 36k | $537k (exactly $536,942) | Pixeduo Studios | |
 | Happy Island Fantasy | $14.99 | 1,186 88% | 36k | $533k (exactly $533,344) | HappyCreator |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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