Games › Match 3 › Match 3 + Fantasy
Should I ship a Fantasy Match 3?
Match 3 + Fantasy
Of 65 developers who shipped a Fantasy Match 3 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.. 81 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $69k, ×146 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 81 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $3.8k (exactly $3,835) |
| Top 5% | $70k (exactly $69,565) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 65 |
| Released games | 294 |
| Announced | 81 |
| 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 up 35% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Match 3; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, RPG, Roguelike
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,781 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Match 3 with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DemonsFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + ShooterFair
- + MagicFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + PvPLong shot
- + CombatLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe 2017 · $974k 
Humans are not that against Lizardwomen 2024 · $336k 
PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the Warlords 2008 · $307k 
10,000,000 2013 · $271k 
Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition 2025 · $235k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe | older | $19.99 | 1,624 95% | 49k | $974k (exactly $973,913) | Trinket Studios |
| | Humans are not that against Lizardwomen | older | $3.99 | 2,807 93% | 84k | $336k (exactly $335,998) | Hue Axis Entertainment |
| | PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the Warlords | older | $9.99 | 1,025 86% | 31k | $307k (exactly $307,192) | Infinite Interactive |
| | 10,000,000 | older | $4.99 | 1,807 90% | 54k | $271k (exactly $270,508) | EightyEightGames |
| | Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition | $14.99 | 522 77% | 16k | $235k (exactly $234,743) | Infinity Plus 2 | |
 | Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes - Definitive Edition | older | $17.99 | 434 80% | 13k | $234k (exactly $234,230) | Dotemu, Capybara Games |
 | Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To | $19.99 | 239 94% | 7.2k | $143k (exactly $143,328) | Soft Not Weak, LLC | |
 | You Must Build A Boat | older | $4.99 | 836 81% | 25k | $125k (exactly $125,149) | EightyEightGames |
 | Humans are not that against Lizardwomen 2 | $9.99 | 389 93% | 12k | $117k (exactly $116,583) | Hue Axis Entertainment | |
 | Hero Emblems II | older | $11.99 | 255 58% | 7.7k | $92k (exactly $91,724) | HeatPot Games |
 | Heartspell: Horizon Academy | $19.99 | 116 96% | 3.5k | $70k (exactly $69,565) | Dire Kitten Games | |
 | Legends of Gems | $8.99 | 139 81% | 4.2k | $37k (exactly $37,488) | 南京西木优洛网络科技有限公司 | |
 | Furry Adventure Club and the Holy Grail 🦁 | $6.99 | 161 93% | 4.8k | $34k (exactly $33,762) | Furry Dreams Lab | |
 | Glamour Kaleidoscope | $7.99 | 90 75% | 2.7k | $22k (exactly $21,573) | Cup Dragon | |
 | Super Farming Boy | · EA | $12.99 | 42 85% | 1.3k | $16k (exactly $16,367) | LemonChili Soft |
 | Roguematch : The Extraplanar Invasion | $14.99 | 33 84% | 990 | $15k (exactly $14,840) | Starstruck Games | |
 | Slime Soup | $4.99 | 50 90% | 1.5k | $7.5k (exactly $7,485) | VANDERMAESEN GAMES |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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