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Should I ship a Magic Interactive Fiction?
Interactive Fiction + Magic
Of 103 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 208 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.9k, ×8.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×236 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 208 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.9k (exactly $3,892) |
| Top 25% | $21k (exactly $21,333) |
| Top 5% | $112k (exactly $112,125) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 103 |
| Released games | 390 |
| Announced | 208 |
| 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 up 85% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- Magic
- 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Adventure, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Cute, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 96% positive over 13,259 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 77 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 208 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 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
Sora no Kiseki the 1st 2025 · $9.4M 
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood 2023 · $3.0M 
美女，请别影响我成仙 2025 · $1.0M 
DevilConnection 2025 · $975k 
Lust Academy - Season 1 2022 · $774k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sora no Kiseki the 1st | $59.99 | 5,205 97% | 156k | $9.4M (exactly $9,367,438) | Nihon Falcom | |
| | The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood | older | $17.99 | 5,606 93% | 168k | $3.0M (exactly $3,025,558) | Deconstructeam |
| | 美女，请别影响我成仙 | $10.99 | 3,140 93% | 94k | $1.0M (exactly $1,035,258) | 蒸汽满满工作室 | |
| | DevilConnection | $16.66 | 1,951 98% | 59k | $975k (exactly $975,110) | ChaoGames | |
| | Lust Academy - Season 1 | older | $14.99 | 1,721 83% | 52k | $774k (exactly $773,934) | Bear in the Night |
 | DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia | older | $39.99 | 280 95% | 8.4k | $336k (exactly $335,916) | Idea Factory, Compile Heart, Sting |
 | KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire! | older | $49.99 | 210 89% | 6.3k | $315k (exactly $314,937) | MAGES. Inc. |
 | Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter | $59.99 | 171 97% | 5.1k | $308k (exactly $307,749) | Nihon Falcom | |
 | Lust Academy - Season 2 | older | $14.99 | 683 82% | 20k | $307k (exactly $307,145) | Bear in the Night |
 | Mesmalie | $8.99 | 1,123 99% | 34k | $303k (exactly $302,873) | Rain (orbitaldot) | |
 | The Lust City 2 | $15.99 | 315 79% | 9.5k | $151k (exactly $151,106) | Candylight Studio | |
 | Our Brief Eternity | $4.99 | 749 99% | 22k | $112k (exactly $112,125) | 土豆花制作组 | |
 | Sigh of the Abyss | $17.99 | 164 96% | 4.9k | $89k (exactly $88,511) | Rascal Devworks | |
 | A Tithe in Blood | $14.99 | 196 86% | 5.9k | $88k (exactly $88,141) | Studio Élan, Studio Elan | |
 | Memory of Memorie : A Chill Story | $11.99 | 245 98% | 7.4k | $88k (exactly $88,126) | BeXide Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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