Should I ship a Puzzle FMV?
FMV + Puzzle
Of 46 developers who shipped a Puzzle FMV 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.. 67 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.5k, ×20 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.1M, ×2365 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 67 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.7k (exactly $1,663) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.5k (exactly $9,524) |
| Top 25% | $95k (exactly $94,954) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,123,575) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 46 |
| Released games | 204 |
| Announced | 67 |
| 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 80% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, 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
- FMV, Puzzle; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Immersive Sim, Multiple Endings
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Story Rich, Cinematic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 15,543 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 5 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 67 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FMV with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SurvivalStrong odds
- + Post-apocalypticStrong odds
- + StrategyStrong odds
- + Multiple EndingsStrong odds
- + Immersive SimStrong odds
- + Choices MatterStrong odds
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + RomanceStrong odds
- + SimulationStrong odds
- + JRPGStrong odds
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + RPGStrong odds
Comparable games
Inscryption 2021 · $81M 
The Operator 2024 · $3.6M 
Obduction 2016 · $2.7M 
Her Story 2015 · $2.5M 
Mandate Of Heaven 2025 · $2.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Inscryption | older | $19.99 | 135,017 96% | 4.1M | $81M (exactly $80,969,695) | Daniel Mullins Games |
| | The Operator | older | $13.99 | 8,515 91% | 255k | $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) | Bureau 81 |
| | Obduction | older | $29.99 | 3,032 78% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,727,890) | Cyan, Inc. |
| | Her Story | older | $9.99 | 8,367 89% | 251k | $2.5M (exactly $2,507,590) | Sam Barlow |
| | Mandate Of Heaven | $14.99 | 5,446 91% | 163k | $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) | 木焱工作室 | |
 | Breakout 13 | older | $9.99 | 6,899 87% | 207k | $2.1M (exactly $2,067,630) | ALT Lab |
 | Peeping Dorm Manager | older | $10.99 | 6,206 92% | 186k | $2.0M (exactly $2,046,118) | HornyDoge |
 | Stories Untold | older | $9.99 | 4,357 86% | 131k | $1.3M (exactly $1,305,793) | Screen Burn |
 | Eclipsium | $12.99 | 3,306 91% | 99k | $1.3M (exactly $1,288,348) | Housefire | |
 | STASIS: BONE TOTEM | older | $19.99 | 2,025 93% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,214,392) | THE BROTHERHOOD |
 | Love is All Around 2 | $9.99 | 3,749 83% | 112k | $1.1M (exactly $1,123,575) | intiny | |
 | Dead Take | $14.99 | 752 87% | 23k | $338k (exactly $338,174) | Surgent Studios | |
 | Refate: Echoes of Desire | $14.99 | 558 87% | 17k | $251k (exactly $250,933) | Terraflame Entertainment | |
 | Killing Time: Resurrected | $24.99 | 320 92% | 9.6k | $240k (exactly $239,904) | Nightdive Studios, 3DO | |
 | Killed by Love 99 Times | $12.99 | 533 95% | 16k | $208k (exactly $207,710) | CineGame Interactive | |
 | The Joker's Game | $11.99 | 486 82% | 15k | $175k (exactly $174,814) | All In Game Co., Limited | |
 | Neyyah | $24.99 | 229 83% | 6.9k | $172k (exactly $171,681) | Defy Reality Entertainment | |
 | SLEEP AWAKE | $29.99 | 164 71% | 4.9k | $148k (exactly $147,551) | EYES OUT, LLC. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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