Do I ship it?

GamesVisual NovelVisual Novel + Faith

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Faith Visual Novel?

Visual Novel + Faith

Of 45 developers who shipped a Faith Visual Novel 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.. 53 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $65k, ×138 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 53 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 53 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Visual Novel + Faith
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.2k → $0 → $4.6k → $718 → $3.6k → $716 → $719 (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Visual Novel + Faith: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $897 (exactly $897)
Top 25% $5.2k (exactly $5,248)
Top 5% $65k (exactly $65,465)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 133
Announced 53
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $6.66

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 65% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Visual Novel
effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Visual Novel; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Interactive Fiction
Price point
$6.66 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $6.66.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,485 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 $900, 1 in 4 over $5.2k, 1 in 20 over $65k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds166 devs · median $54k · 146 announced
  2. + City BuilderStrong odds10 devs · median $19k · 8 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds27 devs · median $18k · 24 announced
  4. + TrainsStrong odds12 devs · median $8.0k · 5 announced
  5. + Souls-likeFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair20 devs · median $22k · 19 announced
  7. + RhythmFair38 devs · median $18k · 52 announced
  8. + JRPGFair219 devs · median $13k · 265 announced
  9. + Immersive SimFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  10. + SwordplayFair13 devs · median $5.7k · 10 announced
  11. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $5.7k · 12 announced
  12. + DiplomacyFair16 devs · median $5.4k · 19 announced

All 188 pairs on the Visual Novel page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Touhou Genso Wanderer -Reloaded- older $34.99 1,734 93% 52k $1.8M (exactly $1,820,180) AQUASTYLE
Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost older $19.99 2,266 81% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,358,920) Alliance Arts, UnknownX
Leap of Faith older $10.99 2,308 96% 69k $761k (exactly $760,948) DriftyGames
Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch (The witch of the Ihanashi) older $24.98 874 95% 26k $655k (exactly $654,976) Fragaria
Black & White older $14.99 612 71% 18k $275k (exactly $275,216) 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame)
Working Sakuya older $6.99 768 96% 23k $161k (exactly $161,050) ぬるぬる坊主
The Bible older $4.99 965 87% 29k $144k (exactly $144,460) Bible Games
The Mildew Children older $9.99 458 92% 14k $137k (exactly $137,263) The Growing Stones
Eden's Ritter - Paladins of Ecstasy older $29.99 138 84% 4.1k $124k (exactly $124,159) Waffle
祈風 Inorikaze older $10.99 369 99% 11k $122k (exactly $121,659) Twilight -日月之境-, 觀象草圖 Astrolabe Draft
Gensokyo:Presumption of Guilt~Pansies Before Dawn $14.99 250 92% 7.5k $112k (exactly $112,425) 戏壤游戏(Xirang Games)
Sisters in Sin 🔞 $14.99 165 75% 5.0k $74k (exactly $74,200) Lewd Star
Holy Whore Emily $11.99 182 75% 5.5k $65k (exactly $65,465) Asami
Daemonologie $2.99 561 92% 17k $50k (exactly $50,322) Katanalevy
Nursing Back to Pleasure $9.99 66 78% 2.0k $20k (exactly $19,780) Daniels K.
Sainthood $9.99 50 94% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) Sainthood Project
东方裁判梦~Rookie Attorney Legendry $4.99 96 63% 2.9k $14k (exactly $14,371) YEARS
Irbet Tong $6.99 56 100% 1.7k $12k (exactly $11,743) Kyhynngy Oyuur
Miss Peacock $9.99 33 96% 990 $9.9k (exactly $9,890) Otter Club
Luce Spenta $8.99 26 96% 780 $7.0k (exactly $7,012) MrFaabry

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