Games › Visual Novel › Visual Novel + Idler
Should I ship an Idler Visual Novel?
Visual Novel + Idler
Of 93 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 87 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×21 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $810. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 87 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $807 (exactly $807) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $24,060) |
| Top 5% | $88k (exactly $88,126) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 93 |
| Released games | 298 |
| Announced | 87 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 15% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Visual Novel, Idler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Dating Sim, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 96% positive over 14,652 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $810. 7 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 87 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Visual Novel with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + City BuilderStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + TrainsStrong odds
- + Souls-likeFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + JRPGFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DiplomacyFair
Comparable games
Chill with You : Lo-Fi Story 2025 · $4.4M 
Vanity Fair: The Pursuit 2024 · $842k 
Chill Pulse 2024 · $691k 
Yogurt! 2020 · $381k 
Wolf of Stock Street 2021 · $289k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Chill with You : Lo-Fi Story | $11.99 | 12,215 98% | 366k | $4.4M (exactly $4,393,736) | Nestopi Inc. | |
| | Vanity Fair: The Pursuit | older | $6.99 | 4,014 87% | 120k | $842k (exactly $841,736) | 木焱工作室 |
| | Chill Pulse | older | $4.99 | 4,619 95% | 139k | $691k (exactly $691,464) | Catos Game |
| | Yogurt! | older | $4.99 | 2,542 75% | 76k | $381k (exactly $380,537) | 430Games, __Ja__ga__imo__ |
| | Wolf of Stock Street | older | $10.99 | 878 77% | 26k | $289k (exactly $289,477) | 樹懶叫工作室, sloth gamer |
 | Asbury Pines | · EA | $12.99 | 558 90% | 17k | $217k (exactly $217,453) | Chaystar Unlimited LLC |
 | Long Dream | older | $6.99 | 962 98% | 29k | $202k (exactly $201,731) | WildMonkey |
 | Paper Bride 5 Two Lifetimes | older | $9.99 | 606 84% | 18k | $182k (exactly $181,618) | HeartBeat Plus |
 | I got a millenary cat | older | $6.99 | 685 85% | 21k | $144k (exactly $143,644) | CatBellUnion |
 | My MILF Stepmom💋 | older | $6.99 | 644 61% | 19k | $135k (exactly $135,047) | DuaWolf |
 | Paper Bride 6 Nightmare | $9.99 | 369 81% | 11k | $111k (exactly $110,589) | HeartBeat Plus | |
 | Lust Sisters 🔞 | $14.99 | 215 67% | 6.5k | $97k (exactly $96,686) | Carnality INC | |
 | Memory of Memorie : A Chill Story | $11.99 | 245 98% | 7.4k | $88k (exactly $88,126) | BeXide Inc. | |
 | Giant Waifu Wash Simulator 💦 | $14.99 | 194 65% | 5.8k | $87k (exactly $87,242) | Lewd Star | |
 | Zavod | · EA | $6.00 | 404 91% | 12k | $73k (exactly $72,720) | Gendocik |
 | Monster Girls: You Can't Say No 🔞 | $14.99 | 158 91% | 4.7k | $71k (exactly $71,053) | Lewd Star | |
 | Bonjour, Cream Inside 💦 | $14.99 | 119 68% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $53,514) | Juicy Peach Games 🍑 | |
 | Massage With Benefits | $9.99 | 175 84% | 5.3k | $52k (exactly $52,448) | pasunna |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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