Do I ship it?

GamesExplorationExploration + Typing

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Exploration Typing game?

Exploration + Typing

Of 33 developers who shipped an Exploration Typing 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 21 developers shipped in the last year and 50 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 50 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Exploration + Typing
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $748 → $1.9k → $360 → $1.2k → $1.8k → $299 (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Exploration + Typing: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,795)
Top 5% $462k (exactly $462,437)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 95
Announced 50
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 50% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Typing
effort 1 / 10 · high · keyboard input against a word list

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Exploration, Typing; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, JRPG
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 1990's, Dialogue Heavy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 10,522 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $360, 1 in 4 over $4.7k, 1 in 20 over $460k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Exploration with a different second tag, 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
Homicipher $13.99 7,821 96% 235k $3.3M (exactly $3,282,474) 八名木Games
Her Story older $9.99 8,367 89% 251k $2.5M (exactly $2,507,590) Sam Barlow
Epistory - Typing Chronicles older $14.99 4,030 94% 121k $1.8M (exactly $1,812,291) Fishing Cactus
Duskers older $19.99 2,304 90% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,381,709) Misfits Attic
Buddy Simulator 1984 older $9.99 3,791 93% 114k $1.1M (exactly $1,136,163) Not a Sailor Studios
Event[0] older $19.99 1,449 79% 43k $869k (exactly $868,965) Ocelot Society
Influent Language Learning Game older $19.99 973 73% 29k $584k (exactly $583,508) Rob Howland
Quadrilateral Cowboy older $19.99 897 92% 27k $538k (exactly $537,931) Blendo Games
Wagotabi: A Japanese Journey $9.99 1,543 98% 46k $462k (exactly $462,437) Wagotabi Limited
Nanotale - Typing Chronicles older $19.99 698 77% 21k $419k (exactly $418,591) Fishing Cactus
Blood Typers $12.49 912 94% 27k $342k (exactly $341,726) Outer Brain Studios
WonderLang Polyglot $39.99 36 80% 1.1k $43k (exactly $43,189) bair games
Portalborn · EA $9.99 72 93% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,578) TheHand
Gumshoe Detective Agency: The First Case $9.99 56 73% 1.7k $17k (exactly $16,783) Birdy Interactive
WonderLang Spanish $24.99 20 80% 600 $15k (exactly $14,994) bair games
WonderLang French $24.99 19 84% 570 $14k (exactly $14,244) bair games
Type or Die $13.99 29 31% 870 $12k (exactly $12,171) Type or Die
WonderLang German $24.99 14 78% 420 $10k (exactly $10,496) bair games

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