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Should I ship a Science Interactive Fiction?
Interactive Fiction + Science
Of 22 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $89; 1 in 20 cleared $18k, ×39 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 36 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $89 (exactly $89) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $5.5k (exactly $5,456) |
| Top 5% | $19k (exactly $18,742) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 78 |
| Announced | 36 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 26%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
- Science
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Interactive Fiction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Emotional
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 507 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
The Invincible 2023 · $9.0M 
Next Space Rebels 2021 · $196k 
Tested on Humans: Escape Room 2021 · $130k 
Cypherpunk Essentials 2021 · $61k 
NeuraGun 2022 · EA · $59k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Invincible | older | $29.99 | 10,055 87% | 302k | $9.0M (exactly $9,046,484) | Starward Industries |
| | Next Space Rebels | older | $19.99 | 327 84% | 9.8k | $196k (exactly $196,102) | Studio Floris Kaayk |
| | Tested on Humans: Escape Room | older | $9.99 | 434 87% | 13k | $130k (exactly $130,070) | mc2games |
| | Cypherpunk Essentials | older | $34.99 | 58 84% | 1.7k | $61k (exactly $60,883) | 基本操作PlayClass |
| | NeuraGun | · EA older | $9.99 | 196 81% | 5.9k | $59k (exactly $58,741) | Whale Rock Games |
 | Ceiba | older | $6.99 | 255 94% | 7.7k | $53k (exactly $53,474) | Wirion, 7DOTS |
 | Doki Doki AI Interrogation | older | $3.49 | 485 81% | 15k | $51k (exactly $50,780) | YAMADA |
 | 60 Minutes to Extinction: Escape Room | $7.99 | 153 82% | 4.6k | $37k (exactly $36,674) | mc2games | |
 | Debris | older | $9.99 | 97 60% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $29,071) | Moonray Studios |
 | Dexter Stardust : Adventures in Outer Space | older | $9.99 | 93 94% | 2.8k | $28k (exactly $27,872) | Dexter Team Games |
 | RigidGems Museum | $24.99 | 25 96% | 750 | $19k (exactly $18,742) | FerioWorks | |
 | 法医探案团之碎嘴小诗 | $3.99 | 135 77% | 4.1k | $16k (exactly $16,160) | 芒果互娱 | |
 | Snowfall's Mystery | $2.99 | 99 86% | 3.0k | $8.9k (exactly $8,880) | Sempiternal Rain | |
 | I Mother | $14.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $7.6k (exactly $7,645) | HellYeah! | |
 | Forgotten 23 | $12.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $5.5k (exactly $5,456) | KovalGames | |
 | Space Romance 🌌 | $5.99 | 19 100% | 570 | $3.4k (exactly $3,414) | TheBigO Games | |
 | Posthuman: Guardians vs PSION | $6.99 | 14 42% | 420 | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) | Choice of Games | |
 | Sex Machina | $4.99 | 19 73% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | TheBigO Games | |
 | Sales, Science & Spirits | $5.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) | Ufo Pizza Productions, Zero Point Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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