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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Turn-Based game?
Turn-Based + Interactive Fiction
Only 7 developers shipped an Interactive Fiction Turn-Based game 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, Sora no Kiseki the 1st, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $13k against a market of $630. 12 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
|---|---|
| Median | $13k (exactly $12,592) |
| Top 25% | $6.5M (exactly $6,536,634) |
| Top 5% | $9.4M (exactly $9,367,438) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 7 |
| Released games | 30 |
| Announced | 12 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $17.99 |
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 4980% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 3%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Turn-Based
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Turn-Based, Interactive Fiction
- Price point
- $17.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $57.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 25,108 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 12 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Turn-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerStrong odds
- + DragonsStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashStrong odds
- + SandboxFair
- + HorrorFair
- + CraftingFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Perma DeathFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + ChessFair
- + Tower DefensePoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
Comparable games
Sora no Kiseki the 1st 2025 · $9.4M 
Esoteric Ebb 2026 · $6.5M 
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist 2022 · $3.3M 
The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki 2022 · $2.0M 
The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki Ⅱ -CRIMSON SiN- 2023 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sora no Kiseki the 1st | $59.99 | 5,205 97% | 156k | $9.4M (exactly $9,367,438) | Nihon Falcom | |
| | Esoteric Ebb | $24.99 | 8,719 95% | 262k | $6.5M (exactly $6,536,634) | Christoffer Bodegård | |
| | I Was a Teenage Exocolonist | older | $24.99 | 4,443 96% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) | Northway Games |
| | The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki | older | $49.99 | 1,316 91% | 39k | $2.0M (exactly $1,973,605) | Nihon Falcom |
| | The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki Ⅱ -CRIMSON SiN- | older | $59.99 | 789 76% | 24k | $1.4M (exactly $1,419,963) | Nihon Falcom |
 | The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria- | $57.99 | 765 77% | 23k | $1.3M (exactly $1,330,870) | Nihon Falcom | |
 | Heads Will Roll: Reforged | older | $24.99 | 1,642 82% | 49k | $1.2M (exactly $1,231,007) | 1917 Studios |
 | Meg's Monster | older | $14.99 | 1,173 96% | 35k | $527k (exactly $527,498) | Odencat |
 | Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind | older | $19.99 | 460 81% | 14k | $276k (exactly $275,862) | A Sharp |
 | Joe Dever's Lone Wolf HD Remastered | older | $14.99 | 596 75% | 18k | $268k (exactly $268,021) | Reply Game Studios |
 | Crown Gambit | $17.99 | 428 94% | 13k | $231k (exactly $230,992) | WILD WITS GAMES | |
 | Grifford Academy | · EA | $14.99 | 28 92% | 840 | $13k (exactly $12,592) | LandShark Games |
 | You Die Today | $7.99 | 7 71% | 210 | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) | Tabletale Games | |
 | 神的名字 | $8.99 | 5 20% | 150 | $1.3k (exactly $1,348) | ciallo | |
 | Rule or Fall | $4.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | Bad Concept, Retry |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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