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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction FPS?
FPS + Interactive Fiction
Of 62 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction FPS 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.. 86 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.9k, ×2.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×148 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 86 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.9k (exactly $3,892) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $16,639) |
| Top 5% | $222k (exactly $222,295) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 62 |
| Released games | 193 |
| Announced | 86 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- FPS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS, Interactive Fiction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Visual Novel, Dating Sim
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, First-Person, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 5,584 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 8 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 86 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
魔女的夜宴 2023 · $10M 
Mirror 2: Project X 2022 · EA · $6.6M 
月に寄りそう乙女の作法 2022 · $4.2M 
Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring 2021 · $2.6M 
Bishojo Mangekyo Kotowari to Meikyu no Shojo 2021 · $2.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 魔女的夜宴 | older | $34.99 | 9,664 98% | 290k | $10M (exactly $10,144,301) | YUZUSOFT |
| | Mirror 2: Project X | · EA older | $1.99 | 111,251 24% | 3.3M | $6.6M (exactly $6,641,685) | KAGAMI Ⅱ WORKs |
| | 月に寄りそう乙女の作法 | older | $39.99 | 3,462 97% | 104k | $4.2M (exactly $4,153,361) | Navel |
| | Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring | older | $13.99 | 6,310 95% | 189k | $2.6M (exactly $2,648,307) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) |
| | Bishojo Mangekyo Kotowari to Meikyu no Shojo | older | $29.99 | 2,718 95% | 82k | $2.4M (exactly $2,445,385) | ωstar, Seikei Production |
 | Hamidashi Creative | older | $29.99 | 2,360 94% | 71k | $2.1M (exactly $2,123,292) | madosoft |
 | Hello Love: 18 Again | $19.99 | 2,075 92% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,244,378) | 念念而忘(Echofall Studio) | |
 | Koi x Shin Ai Kanojo | older | $34.99 | 1,104 88% | 33k | $1.2M (exactly $1,158,869) | Us:track |
 | 彷徨之街 The Street of Adrift | older | $11.99 | 2,210 75% | 66k | $795k (exactly $794,937) | Caramel-Mocha Studio |
 | Yusetsu | older | $16.99 | 1,262 88% | 38k | $643k (exactly $643,241) | DSGame |
 | 哎呦!这么多美女呀! | $18.99 | 609 91% | 18k | $347k (exactly $346,947) | Hangzhou Miqi Technology Co.,Ltd | |
 | No Players Online | $14.99 | 624 83% | 19k | $281k (exactly $280,613) | Beeswax Games | |
 | Sniper Killer | $11.99 | 618 86% | 19k | $222k (exactly $222,295) | Black Eyed Priest, Henry Hoare | |
 | Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion | $9.99 | 353 93% | 11k | $106k (exactly $105,794) | Bubby Darkstar | |
 | 每日亲亲洛丽塔 | $8.99 | 375 74% | 11k | $101k (exactly $101,138) | 夜羊社 | |
 | Project Songbird | $14.99 | 195 85% | 5.9k | $88k (exactly $87,692) | FYRE Games, Conner Rush | |
 | Find the Demon 恶魔鉴定守则 | $7.99 | 346 89% | 10k | $83k (exactly $82,936) | SHAKINO_UNION | |
 | The Fox's Way Home | $15.99 | 170 87% | 5.1k | $82k (exactly $81,549) | BeXide Inc. | |
 | 女神氪金系统 | $9.99 | 219 89% | 6.6k | $66k (exactly $65,634) | 有一小间工作室 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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