Games › Puzzle › Puzzle + Magic
Should I ship a Magic Puzzle game?
Puzzle + Magic
Of 349 developers who shipped a Magic Puzzle game 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.. 592 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×395 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 592 games are announced against 197 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $748 (exactly $748) |
| Top 25% | $5.7k (exactly $5,662) |
| Top 5% | $187k (exactly $187,425) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 349 |
| Released games | 1,234 |
| Announced | 592 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 55,107 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 212 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 592 games are announced against 197 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Medical SimFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + VampiresFair
- + CatsFair
- + DemonsFair
- + God GameFair
- + RomanceFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + LemmingsFair
Comparable games
Hogwarts Legacy 2023 · $495M 
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince 2019 · $11M 
Trine 2: Complete Story 2013 · $9.2M 
Little Witch in the Woods 2025 · $7.0M 
Word Game 2022 · $6.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hogwarts Legacy | older | $59.99 | 274,801 89% | 8.2M | $495M (exactly $494,559,360) | Avalanche Software |
| | Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince | older | $29.99 | 11,712 88% | 351k | $11M (exactly $10,537,286) | Frozenbyte |
| | Trine 2: Complete Story | older | $19.99 | 15,273 95% | 458k | $9.2M (exactly $9,159,218) | Frozenbyte |
| | Little Witch in the Woods | $19.99 | 11,691 89% | 351k | $7.0M (exactly $7,011,093) | SUNNY SIDE UP | |
| | Word Game | older | $34.99 | 5,930 93% | 178k | $6.2M (exactly $6,224,721) | Team9 |
 | Trine Enchanted Edition | older | $14.99 | 12,843 95% | 385k | $5.8M (exactly $5,775,497) | Frozenbyte |
 | Immortals Fenyx Rising | older | $39.99 | 4,522 73% | 136k | $5.4M (exactly $5,425,043) | Ubisoft |
 | Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power | older | $21.99 | 7,301 63% | 219k | $4.8M (exactly $4,816,470) | Frozenbyte |
 | Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! | $5.99 | 24,497 94% | 735k | $4.4M (exactly $4,402,111) | ArtRising | |
 | LEGO® Harry Potter: Years 1-4 | older | $19.99 | 6,458 85% | 194k | $3.9M (exactly $3,872,863) | TT Games |
 | Cat Mail Co. | $14.99 | 6,289 92% | 189k | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,163) | Maracas Studio | |
 | Legacy of Kain™ Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered | $29.99 | 3,042 90% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,736,887) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
 | LEGO® Harry Potter™ Collection | $39.99 | 1,464 82% | 44k | $1.8M (exactly $1,756,361) | TT Games, Double Eleven | |
 | Alabaster Dawn | · EA | $24.99 | 2,168 94% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,350) | Radical Fish Games |
 | Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed | $39.99 | 1,275 93% | 38k | $1.5M (exactly $1,529,618) | Purple Lamp | |
 | Heretic + Hexen | $14.99 | 1,789 95% | 54k | $805k (exactly $804,513) | id Software, Nightdive Studios | |
 | Orb of Creation | $11.99 | 2,167 84% | 65k | $779k (exactly $779,470) | MarpleGames | |
 | Little Big Adventure – Twinsen’s Quest | $29.99 | 725 89% | 22k | $652k (exactly $652,282) | [2.21] |
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.