Do I ship it?

GamesInteractive FictionInteractive Fiction + LGBTQ+

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an LGBTQ+ Interactive Fiction?

Interactive Fiction + LGBTQ+

Of 260 developers who shipped an LGBTQ+ Interactive Fiction 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.. 385 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.9k, ×41 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×2893 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 385 games are announced against 154 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 40.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 385 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Interactive Fiction + LGBTQ+
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 260
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $7.9k → $5.3k → $6.6k → $4.3k → $5.1k → $3.6k (still earning) → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Interactive Fiction + LGBTQ+: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 260
Bottom 30% $776 (exactly $776)
Median $4.9k (exactly $4,852)
Top 25% $31k (exactly $31,161)
Top 5% $344k (exactly $344,314)
Developers, 2 yr 260
Released games 869
Announced 385
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 35% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Interactive Fiction
effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
LGBTQ+
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Interactive Fiction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Adventure, Choices Matter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.00 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.00 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 52,681 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $780, median $4.9k, 1 in 4 over $31k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $780. 8 in 10 of the 166 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 385 games are announced against 154 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Interactive Fiction with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVFair164 devs · median $36k · 162 announced
  2. + Match 3Fair12 devs · median $4.8k · 7 announced
  3. + VampiresFair41 devs · median $1.8k · 52 announced
  4. + SportsFair19 devs · median $1.5k · 19 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair160 devs · median $1.4k · 144 announced
  6. + PiratesFair7 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  7. + DrivingFair12 devs · median $1.2k · 13 announced
  8. + DiplomacyFair12 devs · median $1.0k · 17 announced
  9. + Perma DeathFair27 devs · median $959 · 28 announced
  10. + Board GameFair9 devs · median $657 · 12 announced
  11. + SnowFair10 devs · median $478 · 12 announced
  12. + BuildingFair17 devs · median $449 · 20 announced

All 169 pairs on the Interactive Fiction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Until Then older $19.99 15,721 96% 472k $9.4M (exactly $9,427,884) Polychroma Games
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage $39.99 5,873 86% 176k $7.0M (exactly $7,045,838) DON'T NOD
Gone Home older $14.99 13,619 77% 409k $6.1M (exactly $6,124,464) Fullbright
The Roottrees are Dead $19.99 9,700 96% 291k $5.8M (exactly $5,817,090) Evil Trout Inc.
Coffee Talk older $12.99 11,271 94% 338k $4.4M (exactly $4,392,309) Toge Productions
Road to Empress Ⅱ $18.00 7,773 80% 233k $4.2M (exactly $4,197,420) New One Studio
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
Haven older $24.99 5,294 88% 159k $4.0M (exactly $3,968,912) The Game Bakers
Storyteller older $14.99 8,169 88% 245k $3.7M (exactly $3,673,599) Daniel Benmergui
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist older $24.99 4,443 96% 133k $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) Northway Games
Road to Empress I $8.49 11,829 86% 355k $3.0M (exactly $3,012,846) New One Studio
Sweet Home $7.99 9,910 94% 297k $2.4M (exactly $2,375,427) 开心茶房
Love Curse: Find Your Soulmate $14.00 3,275 95% 98k $1.4M (exactly $1,375,500) Xso
No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES $39.99 835 79% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,001,750) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Sensei! I Like You So Much! $16.99 1,304 86% 39k $665k (exactly $664,649) LaoO Studio (Shanghai Ou Ou Xi Network… (LaoO Studio (Shanghai Ou Ou Xi Network Technology Co. LTD))
Old Skies $19.99 969 93% 29k $581k (exactly $581,109) Wadjet Eye Games
JASON, Coming of Age $14.99 1,213 83% 36k $545k (exactly $545,486) Coeur de cochon

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