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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Sandbox?
Sandbox + Interactive Fiction
Of 54 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction Sandbox 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.. 109 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.0k, ×8.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×370 the market median. Revenue is up 380% on the market; 109 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $898 (exactly $898) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.0k (exactly $5,034) |
| Top 25% | $31k (exactly $31,180) |
| Top 5% | $232k (exactly $232,084) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 54 |
| Released games | 118 |
| Announced | 109 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 380% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Sandbox
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox, Interactive Fiction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Choose Your Own Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Story Rich, Comedy
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 7,542 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 109 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
Hobo: Tough Life 2021 · $7.8M 
Tavern Keeper 🍻 2025 · EA · $4.1M 
Storyteller 2023 · $3.7M 
Lust Academy - Season 1 2022 · $774k 
Green Hell VR 2022 · $685k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hobo: Tough Life | older | $29.99 | 8,679 84% | 260k | $7.8M (exactly $7,808,496) | Perun Creative |
| | Tavern Keeper 🍻 | · EA | $29.99 | 4,563 94% | 137k | $4.1M (exactly $4,105,331) | Greenheart Games 💚 |
| | Storyteller | older | $14.99 | 8,169 88% | 245k | $3.7M (exactly $3,673,599) | Daniel Benmergui |
| | Lust Academy - Season 1 | older | $14.99 | 1,721 83% | 52k | $774k (exactly $773,934) | Bear in the Night |
| | Green Hell VR | older | $19.99 | 1,143 57% | 34k | $685k (exactly $685,457) | Incuvo |
 | despelote | $14.99 | 1,011 95% | 30k | $455k (exactly $454,647) | Julián Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena | |
 | Midnight Sin | $19.99 | 387 82% | 12k | $232k (exactly $232,084) | Faerin Games | |
 | Next Space Rebels | older | $19.99 | 327 84% | 9.8k | $196k (exactly $196,102) | Studio Floris Kaayk |
 | Love of Magic | older | $14.99 | 417 88% | 13k | $188k (exactly $187,525) | Droid Productions |
 | Workshop Simulator | older | $19.99 | 284 67% | 8.5k | $170k (exactly $170,315) | INTERMARUM |
 | Vaudeville | $19.99 | 283 48% | 8.5k | $170k (exactly $169,715) | Bumblebee Studios | |
 | The Lust City 2 | $15.99 | 315 79% | 9.5k | $151k (exactly $151,106) | Candylight Studio | |
 | WebCam: Behind The Screen | $14.99 | 235 88% | 7.1k | $106k (exactly $105,680) | Cream Corp. | |
 | Content King | $11.99 | 293 95% | 8.8k | $105k (exactly $105,392) | Usurper Studios | |
 | Real Feel | $19.99 | 170 64% | 5.1k | $102k (exactly $101,949) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | Dreams of Amelia 🔞[ADULT NSFW] | $14.99 | 225 77% | 6.8k | $101k (exactly $101,182) | CuddlePoint ❤️ | |
 | ComeCloser | $39.99 | 60 68% | 1.8k | $72k (exactly $71,982) | CCT |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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