Games › Interactive Fiction › Interactive Fiction + Lovecraftian
Should I ship a Lovecraftian Interactive Fiction?
Interactive Fiction + Lovecraftian
Of 51 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian 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.. 99 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $44k, ×93 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 99 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,435) |
| Top 25% | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) |
| Top 5% | $44k (exactly $44,344) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 51 |
| Released games | 140 |
| Announced | 99 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
- Lovecraftian
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Interactive Fiction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Multiple Endings
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,133 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 99 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Interactive Fiction with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVFair
- + Match 3Fair
- + VampiresFair
- + SportsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PiratesFair
- + DrivingFair
- + DiplomacyFair
- + Perma DeathFair
- + Board GameFair
- + SnowFair
- + BuildingFair
Comparable games
The Casting of Frank Stone™ 2024 · $5.0M 
Scarlet Hollow 2021 · EA · $4.3M 
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs 2013 · $4.3M 
Impostor Factory 2021 · $3.6M 
Yog-Sothoth’s Yard 2023 · $3.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Casting of Frank Stone™ | older | $29.99 | 5,580 62% | 167k | $5.0M (exactly $5,020,326) | Supermassive Games |
| | Scarlet Hollow | · EA older | $29.99 | 4,833 97% | 145k | $4.3M (exactly $4,348,250) | Black Tabby Games |
| | Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs | older | $19.99 | 7,236 69% | 217k | $4.3M (exactly $4,339,429) | The Chinese Room |
| | Impostor Factory | older | $9.99 | 11,967 95% | 359k | $3.6M (exactly $3,586,510) | Freebird Games |
| | Yog-Sothoth’s Yard | older | $10.99 | 10,207 93% | 306k | $3.4M (exactly $3,365,248) | Bone Nail |
 | Gibbous - A Cthulhu Adventure | older | $19.99 | 2,089 89% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,252,773) | Stuck In Attic |
 | Home Safety Hotline | older | $14.99 | 2,763 90% | 83k | $1.2M (exactly $1,242,521) | Night Signal Entertainment |
 | The Excavation of Hob's Barrow | older | $14.99 | 2,416 93% | 72k | $1.1M (exactly $1,086,475) | Cloak and Dagger Games |
 | The Chrono Jotter | older | $11.99 | 1,968 94% | 59k | $708k (exactly $707,890) | Orca Layout |
 | Portal of Evil: Stolen Runes Collector's Edition | older | $14.99 | 378 91% | 11k | $170k (exactly $169,987) | 8Floor |
 | Find the Demon 恶魔鉴定守则 | $7.99 | 346 89% | 10k | $83k (exactly $82,936) | SHAKINO_UNION | |
 | HYPNOS | · EA | $19.90 | 88 95% | 2.6k | $53k (exactly $52,536) | Redlock Studio |
 | Interdimensional Vending Machine | $7.99 | 185 84% | 5.6k | $44k (exactly $44,344) | Neuroticfly Games | |
 | Omen Exitio: Hunger | $9.99 | 117 88% | 3.5k | $35k (exactly $35,065) | Tiny Bull Studios | |
 | The Allure Of Wanton Cove | $9.99 | 114 78% | 3.4k | $34k (exactly $34,166) | Ktulhu Solutions, Aftermath | |
 | 49 Keys | $9.99 | 76 77% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $22,777) | Michele Buonanno, Veronica Wu, Fabio Po… (Michele Buonanno, Veronica Wu, Fabio Porfidia) | |
 | Care | $9.99 | 72 94% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $21,578) | The Pocket Dimension | |
 | Marry a Deep One: Innsmouth Simulator | $17.99 | 32 50% | 960 | $17k (exactly $17,270) | simulinati | |
 | Outlying Islands | $8.99 | 64 92% | 1.9k | $17k (exactly $17,261) | 九指画尸, 线娘 | |
 | Hell Dive | $7.99 | 39 87% | 1.2k | $9.3k (exactly $9,348) | Teacup Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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