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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Puzzle Platformer?
Puzzle Platformer + Interactive Fiction
Of 61 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction Puzzle Platformer 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.. 104 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 32 developers shipped in the last year and 104 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $359 (exactly $359) |
| Top 25% | $3.0k (exactly $2,992) |
| Top 5% | $15k (exactly $14,735) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 61 |
| Released games | 191 |
| Announced | 104 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Puzzle Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Puzzle Platformer, Interactive Fiction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Puzzle
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Emotional
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 3,474 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 104 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomanceFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + Life SimFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + SokobanFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
- + MetroidvaniaPoor odds
- + SwordplayPoor odds
- + Split ScreenPoor odds
- + Hack and SlashPoor odds
Comparable games
OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition 2021 · $6.5M 
Old Man's Journey 2017 · $860k 
Vanity Fair: The Pursuit 2024 · $842k 
Game of Fate 2: A Century's Promise 2025 · $506k 
Paper Bride 2021 · $487k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition | older | $24.99 | 8,722 96% | 262k | $6.5M (exactly $6,538,883) | SIGONO INC. |
| | Old Man's Journey | older | $9.99 | 2,871 87% | 86k | $860k (exactly $860,439) | Broken Rules |
| | Vanity Fair: The Pursuit | older | $6.99 | 4,014 87% | 120k | $842k (exactly $841,736) | 木焱工作室 |
| | Game of Fate 2: A Century's Promise | $15.99 | 1,054 78% | 32k | $506k (exactly $505,604) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
| | Paper Bride | older | $7.99 | 2,030 91% | 61k | $487k (exactly $486,591) | HeartBeat Plus |
 | Game Of Fate 3：Clash Of Crowns | $16.79 | 734 85% | 22k | $370k (exactly $369,716) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | SILT | older | $14.99 | 793 79% | 24k | $357k (exactly $356,612) | Spiral Circus Games |
 | Game of Fate: Chasing Through Time | $10.99 | 986 88% | 30k | $325k (exactly $325,084) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | Paper Bride 2 Zangling Village | older | $9.99 | 1,010 91% | 30k | $303k (exactly $302,697) | HeartBeat Plus |
 | Paper Bride 3 Unresolved Love | older | $9.99 | 874 92% | 26k | $262k (exactly $261,938) | HeartBeat Plus |
 | Paper Bride 7 Lethal Bond | $9.99 | 218 92% | 6.5k | $65k (exactly $65,335) | HeartBeat Plus | |
 | 春泥 Soil of Rebirth | $9.99 | 216 73% | 6.5k | $65k (exactly $64,735) | 午夜说书人 | |
 | Homicide Desk | $5.99 | 82 67% | 2.5k | $15k (exactly $14,735) | Shu'la Lab LLC | |
 | Kejora | $17.99 | 26 76% | 780 | $14k (exactly $14,032) | Berangin Creative | |
 | Blueberry | $12.49 | 34 100% | 1.0k | $13k (exactly $12,740) | MELLOW Games | |
 | Winter Clothing | $9.99 | 41 75% | 1.2k | $12k (exactly $12,288) | 坤舆科技 | |
 | TEAM PANIC | $3.99 | 83 62% | 2.5k | $9.9k (exactly $9,935) | Furko |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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