Do I ship it?

GamesInteractive FictionInteractive Fiction + Superhero

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Superhero Interactive Fiction?

Interactive Fiction + Superhero

Only 19 developers shipped a Superhero Interactive Fiction in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Nova Hearts, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240, ×0.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. Revenue is down 100% on the market, with 22 games announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 22 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Interactive Fiction + Superhero
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $45k → $93k → $3.3k → $9.0k → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Interactive Fiction + Superhero: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $240 (exactly $240)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,492)
Top 5% $50k (exactly $50,375)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 54
Announced 22
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 100% on the market, supply 300% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Interactive Fiction
effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
Superhero
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Interactive Fiction; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choose Your Own Adventure, Choices Matter, Multiple Endings
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Text-Based, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 352 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $240, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $50k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

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
Invincible Presents: Atom Eve older $9.99 550 96% 17k $165k (exactly $164,835) Terrible Posture Games
Fallen Hero: Retribution older $11.99 415 97% 12k $149k (exactly $149,276) Hosted Games
Fallen Hero: Rebirth older $6.99 459 96% 14k $96k (exactly $96,252) Hosted Games
Glowing Stones : Heroes' Awakening · EA older $11.99 259 91% 7.8k $93k (exactly $93,162) MoonLightDevCorp
Heroes Rise: The Prodigy older $4.99 381 79% 11k $57k (exactly $57,036) Choice of Games
Nova Hearts $19.99 84 67% 2.5k $50k (exactly $50,375) Lightbulb Crew
Never Meet Your Heroes older $13.99 107 59% 3.2k $45k (exactly $44,908) ITK
Community College Hero: Trial by Fire older $4.99 245 84% 7.4k $37k (exactly $36,676) Hosted Games
Heroes Rise: The Hero Project older $5.99 166 78% 5.0k $30k (exactly $29,830) Choice of Games
Pixel Puzzle Makeout League older $14.99 66 90% 2.0k $30k (exactly $29,680) Rude Ghost
Hank: Drowning On Dry Land $2.99 140 95% 4.2k $13k (exactly $12,558) My Next Games
Giggle Night: Trixie's Trial · EA $19.99 16 81% 480 $9.6k (exactly $9,595) Anaximanes Entertainment
Man of Steal (Nymphs) $14.99 20 50% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) Nymphs
Heroes of Tomorrow: Hidden Potential $7.99 32 75% 960 $7.7k (exactly $7,670) Choice of Games
The Last Scion $5.99 25 84% 750 $4.5k (exactly $4,492) Choice of Games
Dawn of Heroes $7.99 14 64% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Hosted Games
Posthuman: Guardians vs PSION $6.99 14 42% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) Choice of Games
Professor mother-in-law begged me to get pregnant $9.99 3 33% 90 $899 (exactly $899) CHEN JIAWEI
Agent 9 $4.99 4 75% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Spade 2 Studio

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