Do I ship it?

GamesQuick-Time EventsQuick-Time Events + Interactive Fiction

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Interactive Fiction?

Quick-Time Events + Interactive Fiction

Of 31 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×7.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×2620 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 35 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 35 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Quick-Time Events + Interactive Fiction
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $138k → $32k → $4.3k → $1.1k → $15k (still earning) → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Quick-Time Events + Interactive Fiction: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $43k (exactly $42,733)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,244,378)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 71
Announced 35
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 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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.

Quick-Time Events
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Interactive Fiction
effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Quick-Time Events, Interactive Fiction; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choices Matter, Visual Novel, Dating Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cinematic, Story Rich, Emotional
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 8,115 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $42k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 5 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Quick-Time Events with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  2. + Shoot 'Em UpFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  3. + Life SimFair28 devs · median $958 · 33 announced
  4. + SimulationFair116 devs · median $748 · 133 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $720 · 18 announced
  6. + Resource ManagementFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $657 · 9 announced
  8. + AliensFair12 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  9. + SpaceFair16 devs · median $597 · 24 announced
  10. + Bullet TimeLong shot10 devs · median $390 · 15 announced
  11. + DemonsLong shot17 devs · median $300 · 22 announced
  12. + Bullet HellLong shot27 devs · median $239 · 25 announced

All 110 pairs on the Quick-Time Events page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Heavy Rain older $19.99 26,503 85% 795k $16M (exactly $15,893,849) Quantic Dream
Until Dawn™ $59.99 3,564 82% 107k $6.4M (exactly $6,414,131) Ballistic Moon
New Tales from the Borderlands older $39.99 1,737 29% 52k $2.1M (exactly $2,083,879) Gearbox Software
Card Shark older $19.99 2,965 90% 89k $1.8M (exactly $1,778,110) Nerial
Hello Love: 18 Again $19.99 2,075 92% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,244,378) 念念而忘(Echofall Studio)
Superscout older $17.99 652 75% 20k $352k (exactly $351,884) Mountain and Sea Studio
Growing Things Up - Season 1 $12.99 707 91% 21k $276k (exactly $275,518) King, BLANQ
反转21克 older $8.99 1,020 72% 31k $275k (exactly $275,094) 想象颗粒
Joe Dever's Lone Wolf HD Remastered older $14.99 596 75% 18k $268k (exactly $268,021) Reply Game Studios
THE VIG $17.99 488 90% 15k $263k (exactly $263,374) 亦盈文化, 山与海工作室, 北京超带感
Sorry! I surrounded beauty! $5.99 344 82% 10k $62k (exactly $61,817) Really Games
我的同事不对劲 $8.99 215 89% 6.5k $58k (exactly $57,986) 11J Studio
Couple-Cultivation Saves the World $7.99 196 59% 5.9k $47k (exactly $46,981) Guns&Roses Studio
蜀汉再临:源起 Restart ShuHan Dynasty:Origin $3.99 357 76% 11k $43k (exactly $42,733) 浙江海蕊盈信网络科技有限公司
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

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