Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Historical Score Attack game?

Score Attack + Historical

Of 22 developers who shipped a Historical Score Attack 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.. 22 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 14 developers shipped in the last year and 22 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 22 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Score Attack + Historical
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $776 → $269 → $2.0k → $150 → $359 (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Score Attack + Historical: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $270 (exactly $270)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,559)
Top 5% $26k (exactly $26,374)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 54
Announced 22
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 140% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Historical
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Score Attack; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Arcade
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 833 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 $270, 1 in 4 over $1.5k, 1 in 20 over $26k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Score Attack with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MechsFair23 devs · median $6.2k · 24 announced
  2. + Spectacle fighterFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  3. + DragonsFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  4. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $1.7k · 14 announced
  5. + CookingFair28 devs · median $1.4k · 30 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 5 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair112 devs · median $1.2k · 104 announced
  8. + GolfFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  9. + GothicFair20 devs · median $959 · 14 announced
  10. + ModernFair53 devs · median $899 · 43 announced
  11. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair14 devs · median $898 · 11 announced
  12. + UndergroundFair23 devs · median $748 · 18 announced

All 200 pairs on the Score Attack page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny 2025 · $597k Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration 2022 · $548k Metro Simulator 2 2023 · $303k Toy Soldiers: HD 2021 · $112k Only Up ! 2024 · $45k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny $29.99 663 85% 20k $597k (exactly $596,501) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration older $39.99 457 92% 14k $548k (exactly $548,263) Digital Eclipse
Metro Simulator 2 older $14.99 674 65% 20k $303k (exactly $303,098) KishMish Games
Toy Soldiers: HD older $29.99 125 62% 3.8k $112k (exactly $112,462) Signal Studios, Outer Heaven, Eden Indu… (Signal Studios, Outer Heaven, Eden Industries)
Only Up ! older $6.99 216 26% 6.5k $45k (exactly $45,295) WGI GAMING
Nuclear Design Bureau · EA $9.99 88 79% 2.6k $26k (exactly $26,374) Design Bureau KB-11
Lorenzo il Magnifico older $14.99 58 70% 1.7k $26k (exactly $26,083) Studio Clangore
TimeShifters older $4.99 167 93% 5.0k $25k (exactly $25,000) FossettGaming
Only Up! 1 older $4.99 101 42% 3.0k $15k (exactly $15,120) WGI GAMING, WGI GAMING
Social Credit Simulator older $4.99 90 77% 2.7k $13k (exactly $13,473) Fasu Studio
Sunset Game Shop Shayou $9.99 41 90% 1.2k $12k (exactly $12,288) Lobstudio
COALCOM: Power Station $12.99 6 100% 180 $2.3k (exactly $2,338) Pedro Matos
Sakamoto Dangerous Barrage $2.99 22 100% 660 $2.0k (exactly $1,973) Retsu Teikoku
Towers Saga $12.99 4 100% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) Wise Up Games
Second Chance at a Billion $10.00 2 50% 60 $600 (exactly $600) ElderYew
Sky Scramble $5.99 3 100% 90 $539 (exactly $539) SpunjLabs
Pharaoh's Riches $7.99 2 0% 60 $479 (exactly $479) SAT-BOX
Blackbeard's Treasure $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) SAT-BOX

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