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Should I ship a Puzzle Management game?
Management + Puzzle
Of 261 developers who shipped a Puzzle Management 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.. 373 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×357 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 373 games are announced against 146 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,349) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,288) |
| Top 5% | $224k (exactly $224,288) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 261 |
| Released games | 749 |
| Announced | 373 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 110% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Management, Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Building
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 42,189 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 142 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 373 games are announced against 146 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
PC Building Simulator 2019 · $25M 
shapez 2 - Factory 2026 · $12M 
Car Mechanic Simulator 2015 2015 · $7.2M 
Mini Motorways 2021 · $7.1M 
shapez 2020 · $4.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | PC Building Simulator | older | $19.99 | 42,153 93% | 1.3M | $25M (exactly $25,279,154) | Claudiu Kiss, The Irregular Corporation |
| | shapez 2 - Factory | $29.99 | 13,846 96% | 415k | $12M (exactly $12,457,246) | tobspr Games | |
| | Car Mechanic Simulator 2015 | older | $19.99 | 12,078 92% | 362k | $7.2M (exactly $7,243,177) | Red Dot Games |
| | Mini Motorways | older | $9.99 | 23,561 96% | 707k | $7.1M (exactly $7,061,232) | Dinosaur Polo Club |
| | shapez | older | $9.99 | 14,252 96% | 428k | $4.3M (exactly $4,271,324) | Tobias Springer |
 | Mini Metro | older | $9.99 | 12,800 95% | 384k | $3.8M (exactly $3,836,160) | Dinosaur Polo Club |
 | BOOK OF HOURS | older | $24.99 | 4,129 89% | 124k | $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) | Weather Factory |
 | Cat Mail Co. | $14.99 | 6,289 92% | 189k | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,163) | Maracas Studio | |
 | Gunsmith Simulator | $24.99 | 3,165 84% | 95k | $2.4M (exactly $2,372,800) | GameHunters | |
 | Cheap Car Repair | $19.69 | 3,603 91% | 108k | $2.1M (exactly $2,128,292) | Little Dog Games | |
 | Beholder: Conductor | $13.99 | 4,532 91% | 136k | $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) | Alawar | |
 | Hozy | $14.99 | 4,128 80% | 124k | $1.9M (exactly $1,856,362) | Come On Studio | |
 | Parcel Simulator | $17.99 | 2,804 93% | 84k | $1.5M (exactly $1,513,319) | Dansan Digital | |
 | Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop | $19.99 | 1,108 84% | 33k | $664k (exactly $664,468) | Beard Envy | |
 | Do No Harm | $15.99 | 896 74% | 27k | $430k (exactly $429,811) | Darts Games | |
 | Outhold | $6.99 | 1,818 86% | 55k | $381k (exactly $381,235) | Tellus Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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