Do I ship it?

GamesInteractive FictionInteractive Fiction + Mythology

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mythological Interactive Fiction?

Interactive Fiction + Mythology

Of 35 developers who shipped a Mythological 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.. 78 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $800, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $760k, ×1211 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 78 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 78 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Interactive Fiction + Mythology
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $10k → $3.8k → $1.2k → $809 → $4.9k → $300 (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Interactive Fiction + Mythology: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $802 (exactly $802)
Top 25% $9.9k (exactly $9,893)
Top 5% $760k (exactly $760,339)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 142
Announced 78
Effort 5 / 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 30% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Interactive Fiction
effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
Mythology
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Interactive Fiction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choose Your Own Adventure, Multiple Endings
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Hand-drawn, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 7,415 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $800, 1 in 4 over $9.8k, 1 in 20 over $760k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 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
Yog-Sothoth’s Yard older $10.99 10,207 93% 306k $3.4M (exactly $3,365,248) Bone Nail
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical older $29.99 2,570 92% 77k $2.3M (exactly $2,312,229) Summerfall Studios
Slaves of Rome older $24.99 1,924 73% 58k $1.4M (exactly $1,442,423) Biggus Diccus Games
Home Safety Hotline older $14.99 2,763 90% 83k $1.2M (exactly $1,242,521) Night Signal Entertainment
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
SIFU Kidnapped! Adventure in the Women's Kingdom $9.99 2,537 95% 76k $760k (exactly $760,339) 次元边界
One-Eyed Likho $19.99 1,155 93% 35k $693k (exactly $692,654) Morteshka
Cats and the Other Lives older $19.99 1,089 91% 33k $653k (exactly $653,073) Cultic Games
Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind older $19.99 460 81% 14k $276k (exactly $275,862) A Sharp
Life Eater older $14.99 330 86% 9.9k $148k (exactly $148,401) Strange Scaffold
Kromlech · EA $29.99 136 65% 4.1k $122k (exactly $122,359) Perun Creative
Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists $24.99 76 78% 2.3k $57k (exactly $56,977) A Sharp
The Allure Of Wanton Cove $9.99 114 78% 3.4k $34k (exactly $34,166) Ktulhu Solutions, Aftermath
Legends of Savvarah: Children of the Sun $7.99 75 92% 2.3k $18k (exactly $17,978) ST Sinovar
Legends of Savvarah: Flowers and Scorpions $5.99 94 95% 2.8k $17k (exactly $16,892) ST Sinovar
XXX Pussy House $6.99 66 71% 2.0k $14k (exactly $13,840) Dreamers Workshop
Rainbow Sea $14.99 22 90% 660 $9.9k (exactly $9,893) paochanz

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