Do I ship it?

Games › Runner › Runner + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Runner?

Runner + Magic

Only 19 developers shipped a Magic Runner 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, Abyss Runner, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 36 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $720, ×1.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $22k, ×46 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 36 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 36 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Runner + Magic
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: $120 → $0 → $298 → $719 → $3.8k → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Runner + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,835)
Top 5% $22k (exactly $22,018)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 70
Announced 36
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 50% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 26%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Runner
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Magic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Runner; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Platformer
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 229 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $720, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $22k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Runner with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LootFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 10 announced
  2. + Local MultiplayerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced
  3. + PsychologicalFair14 devs · median $839 · 12 announced
  4. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $838 · 8 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair12 devs · median $750 · 11 announced
  6. + Time AttackFair15 devs · median $599 · 10 announced
  7. + FPSLong shot39 devs · median $958 · 43 announced
  8. + 4 Player LocalPoor odds12 devs · median $2.4k · 16 announced
  9. + MusicPoor odds16 devs · median $1.2k · 20 announced
  10. + Co-opPoor odds38 devs · median $1.0k · 64 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds40 devs · median $898 · 64 announced
  12. + Interactive FictionPoor odds10 devs · median $839 · 16 announced

All 123 pairs on the Runner page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Abyss Runner 2026 · $22k Return Of The Zombie King 2019 · $9.4k Fiendish Quest 2025 · $6.9k Crystal Riders VR 2023 · $5.4k Running on Magic 2022 · $4.5k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Abyss Runner $6.99 105 86% 3.2k $22k (exactly $22,018) Asuwawagami
Return Of The Zombie King older $4.99 63 71% 1.9k $9.4k (exactly $9,431) Return To Adventure Mountain, LLC
Fiendish Quest $9.99 23 73% 690 $6.9k (exactly $6,893) オニチク屋！
Crystal Riders VR older $14.99 12 100% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Nikola Grunchevski
Running on Magic older $4.99 30 86% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) Gusarapo Games
Neko Journey older $4.99 29 58% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) Feas, Axyos Games
Tibor: Tale of a Kind Vampire $9.99 14 100% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Cateia Games
PURPLEARC $11.99 11 100% 330 $4.0k (exactly $3,957) akarmyu
Zerun: The Tiny Planet $7.99 16 100% 480 $3.8k (exactly $3,835) Mirakar Studio, CINEMAX GAMES
Red Fox and the Four Seasons $4.99 23 69% 690 $3.4k (exactly $3,443) Boogygames Studios
Tootum $8.99 11 54% 330 $3.0k (exactly $2,967) Douglas Oliveira
Mia and me – Magic Friends $14.99 6 16% 180 $2.7k (exactly $2,698) Blue Ocean Entertainment
SeekOut · EA $3.89 16 93% 480 $1.9k (exactly $1,867) Nightroot Interactive
Mistress Of The Tower $5.99 4 100% 120 $719 (exactly $719) Pipot Studio

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