Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Magic
Should I ship a Magic Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Magic
Of 75 developers who shipped a Magic Metroidvania 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.. 220 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×8.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×572 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 220 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $27,365) |
| Top 5% | $272k (exactly $271,528) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 75 |
| Released games | 208 |
| Announced | 220 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 55% on the market, supply 25% 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.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Magic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 6,143 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 9 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 220 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Rabi-Ribi 2016 · $5.8M 
Eastern Exorcist 2021 · $3.3M 
TEVI 2023 · $3.2M 
Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight 2016 · $3.1M 
Pseudoregalia 2023 · $3.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Rabi-Ribi | older | $17.99 | 10,768 95% | 323k | $5.8M (exactly $5,811,490) | CreSpirit, GemaYue |
| | Eastern Exorcist | older | $17.99 | 6,099 84% | 183k | $3.3M (exactly $3,291,630) | Wildfire Game（无锡野火数字科技有限公司） |
| | TEVI | older | $29.99 | 3,580 88% | 107k | $3.2M (exactly $3,220,926) | CreSpirit, GemaYue, Ein Lee |
| | Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight | older | $9.99 | 10,502 93% | 315k | $3.1M (exactly $3,147,449) | Bombservice |
| | Pseudoregalia | older | $5.99 | 16,978 96% | 509k | $3.1M (exactly $3,050,947) | rittzler |
 | Dread Delusion | older | $19.99 | 4,886 90% | 147k | $2.9M (exactly $2,930,134) | Lovely Hellplace |
 | Asterigos: Curse of the Stars | older | $34.99 | 2,550 78% | 77k | $2.7M (exactly $2,676,735) | Acme Gamestudio |
 | FlipWitch - Forbidden Sex Hex | older | $14.99 | 5,549 94% | 166k | $2.5M (exactly $2,495,385) | MomoGames, Critical Bliss |
 | UnEpic | older | $12.99 | 5,384 90% | 162k | $2.1M (exactly $2,098,145) | @unepic_fran |
 | Castlevania Dominus Collection | older | $24.99 | 2,362 94% | 71k | $1.8M (exactly $1,770,791) | KONAMI |
 | Journey of Realm：Dawn Dew | $10.99 | 2,233 97% | 67k | $736k (exactly $736,220) | 葱色兔兔/Scallion Rabbit | |
 | Verho - Curse of Faces | $19.99 | 1,219 91% | 37k | $731k (exactly $731,034) | Kasur Games | |
 | Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse | $16.99 | 543 72% | 16k | $277k (exactly $276,767) | Frontside 180 | |
 | Shattered Divinities | $9.99 | 906 94% | 27k | $272k (exactly $271,528) | 星魂游戏 | |
 | Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution | $24.99 | 267 85% | 8.0k | $200k (exactly $200,170) | WayForward, Limited Run Games | |
 | Volkolak: The Will of Gods | $15.99 | 304 87% | 9.1k | $146k (exactly $145,829) | Volk Team | |
 | Elementallis | $17.99 | 263 90% | 7.9k | $142k (exactly $141,941) | AnKae Games | |
 | Lone Fungus: Melody of Spores | $19.99 | 200 93% | 6.0k | $120k (exactly $119,940) | BASTI GAMES | |
 | Paper Animal Adventure | · EA | $14.99 | 139 95% | 4.2k | $63k (exactly $62,508) | Cuddling Raccoons Studio |
 | Ariana and the Elder Codex | $29.99 | 69 65% | 2.1k | $62k (exactly $62,079) | Idea Factory, Compile Heart, HYDE, Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.