Games › Interactive Fiction › Interactive Fiction + Medieval
Should I ship a Medieval Interactive Fiction?
Interactive Fiction + Medieval
Of 85 developers who shipped a Medieval 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.. 160 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×332 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 160 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) |
| Top 25% | $7.4k (exactly $7,431) |
| Top 5% | $158k (exactly $157,721) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 85 |
| Released games | 281 |
| Announced | 160 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, 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
- Medieval
- 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 Visual Novel, Choices Matter, Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Hand-drawn
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 7,598 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 160 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
A Plague Tale: Requiem 2022 · $31M 
The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty 2024 · $15M 
Pentiment 2022 · $5.5M 
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante 2021 · $4.9M 
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth 2017 · $3.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | A Plague Tale: Requiem | older | $49.99 | 20,797 90% | 624k | $31M (exactly $31,189,261) | Asobo Studio |
| | The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty | older | $9.99 | 49,765 94% | 1.5M | $15M (exactly $14,914,570) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) |
| | Pentiment | older | $19.99 | 9,231 95% | 277k | $5.5M (exactly $5,535,831) | Obsidian Entertainment |
| | The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante | older | $19.99 | 8,151 89% | 245k | $4.9M (exactly $4,888,155) | Sever, Schisma Games |
| | Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth | older | $19.99 | 5,926 92% | 178k | $3.6M (exactly $3,553,822) | Daedalic Entertainment |
 | Sovereign Tower | $19.99 | 3,087 93% | 93k | $1.9M (exactly $1,851,274) | WILD WITS GAMES | |
 | Heads Will Roll: Reforged | older | $24.99 | 1,642 82% | 49k | $1.2M (exactly $1,231,007) | 1917 Studios |
 | The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian | $24.99 | 1,356 74% | 41k | $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) | Schisma Games | |
 | Corruption Town | · EA | $14.99 | 992 88% | 30k | $446k (exactly $446,102) | BoredBasmati |
 | King Of The Castle | older | $9.99 | 1,403 90% | 42k | $420k (exactly $420,479) | Tributary Games |
 | Crown Gambit | $17.99 | 428 94% | 13k | $231k (exactly $230,992) | WILD WITS GAMES | |
 | Parasite Black | · EA | $17.49 | 372 89% | 11k | $195k (exactly $195,188) | Damned Studios |
 | The Ethereal Dream | $19.99 | 263 74% | 7.9k | $158k (exactly $157,721) | 鸭子与葱制作组 | |
 | Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle | $16.99 | 227 86% | 6.8k | $116k (exactly $115,702) | ジギタリス出版 | |
 | Saga & Seeker | $9.99 | 178 57% | 5.3k | $53k (exactly $53,347) | Dagdoria Studio | |
 | Run TavernQuest | $12.99 | 134 93% | 4.0k | $52k (exactly $52,220) | Silicon Sundial | |
 | Daemonologie | $2.99 | 561 92% | 17k | $50k (exactly $50,322) | Katanalevy |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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