Do I ship it?

GamesVisual NovelVisual Novel + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Visual Novel?

Visual Novel + Magic

Of 245 developers who shipped a Magic Visual Novel 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.. 342 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.5k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×479 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 342 games are announced against 159 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 11.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 342 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Visual Novel + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 245
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.0k → $7.2k → $4.7k → $6.1k → $6.5k → $6.1k → $3.9k (still earning) → $6.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Visual Novel + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 245
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,317)
Median $5.5k (exactly $5,456)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $27,669)
Top 5% $227k (exactly $227,472)
Developers, 2 yr 245
Released games 822
Announced 342
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 25% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Visual Novel
effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
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
Visual Novel; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Choices Matter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, Cute
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 94% positive over 22,153 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $5.5k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 8 in 10 of the 129 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 342 games are announced against 159 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds166 devs · median $54k · 146 announced
  2. + City BuilderStrong odds10 devs · median $19k · 8 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds27 devs · median $18k · 24 announced
  4. + TrainsStrong odds12 devs · median $8.0k · 5 announced
  5. + Souls-likeFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair20 devs · median $22k · 19 announced
  7. + RhythmFair38 devs · median $18k · 52 announced
  8. + JRPGFair219 devs · median $13k · 265 announced
  9. + Immersive SimFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  10. + SwordplayFair13 devs · median $5.7k · 10 announced
  11. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $5.7k · 12 announced
  12. + DiplomacyFair16 devs · median $5.4k · 19 announced

All 188 pairs on the Visual Novel page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
WITCH ON THE HOLY NIGHT older $39.99 7,231 98% 217k $8.7M (exactly $8,675,031) TYPE-MOON, Lasengle Inc., Hunex
Fate/Samurai Remnant older $39.99 5,018 90% 151k $6.0M (exactly $6,020,095) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Fate/stay night REMASTERED older $29.99 4,277 95% 128k $3.8M (exactly $3,848,017) TYPE-MOON, fuzz Inc.
Magical Princess $14.99 7,636 96% 229k $3.4M (exactly $3,433,909) Neotro Inc., MAGI Inc.
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood older $17.99 5,606 93% 168k $3.0M (exactly $3,025,558) Deconstructeam
Umineko When They Cry - Question Arcs older $24.99 2,629 95% 79k $2.0M (exactly $1,970,961) 07th Expansion
Ys X: Nordics $59.99 890 76% 27k $1.6M (exactly $1,601,733) Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH
Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane older $29.99 1,649 96% 49k $1.5M (exactly $1,483,605) Diamondhenge Entertainment
9-nine-:Episode 2 older $19.99 1,948 98% 58k $1.2M (exactly $1,168,216) PALETTE
美女,请别影响我成仙 $10.99 3,140 93% 94k $1.0M (exactly $1,035,258) 蒸汽满满工作室
DevilConnection $16.66 1,951 98% 59k $975k (exactly $975,110) ChaoGames
Fate/hollow ataraxia REMASTERED $29.99 949 96% 28k $854k (exactly $853,815) TYPE-MOON, fuzz Inc.
The Necromancer's Tale $24.99 921 91% 28k $690k (exactly $690,474) Psychic Software
Mika and The Witch's Mountain $19.99 671 86% 20k $402k (exactly $402,399) Chibig, Nukefist
Fallen Priestess: My Sister's Demonic Bloodline $18.99 622 72% 19k $354k (exactly $354,353) BBQ大好き
Ys X: Proud Nordics $69.99 168 75% 5.0k $353k (exactly $352,750) Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH

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