Do I ship it?

GamesVisual NovelVisual Novel + Martial Arts

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Martial-Arts Visual Novel?

Visual Novel + Martial Arts

Of 29 developers who shipped a Martial-Arts 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.. 23 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×259 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 23 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 23 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Visual Novel + Martial Arts
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.1k → $9.3k → $861 → $17k → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Visual Novel + Martial Arts: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,248)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $28,489)
Top 5% $162k (exactly $162,424)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 64
Announced 23
Effort 6 / 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 down 30% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Martial Arts
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Visual Novel; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Multiple Endings, Choices Matter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 4,872 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $28k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

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
风信楼 older $11.99 3,423 94% 103k $1.2M (exactly $1,231,253) Pingfang Games
再见断刀 $9.99 2,563 92% 77k $768k (exactly $768,131) 非侠游戏
Waifu Fighter older $7.99 2,677 86% 80k $642k (exactly $641,677) Happy Monster Studio
Majikoi! Love Me Seriously! older $34.99 212 95% 6.4k $223k (exactly $222,536) Minato Soft
大侠请重来 older $1.99 3,564 82% 107k $213k (exactly $212,771) 熊窝dodox
轮回修仙传 $4.99 1,085 81% 33k $162k (exactly $162,424) Collider Studio
Tales of Justice Academy: Winds Arise $10.99 460 71% 14k $152k (exactly $151,662) 九芽川 Ninth Leaf
Shuyan Saga™ older $14.99 261 86% 7.8k $117k (exactly $117,372) Lofty Sky Entertainment Inc.
Something To Write About: Unbroken: Book One $13.99 201 90% 6.0k $84k (exactly $84,360) SeanchaiStudios
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City $24.99 105 76% 3.2k $79k (exactly $78,718) Cortopia Studios
铜刀银剑 $9.26 188 80% 5.6k $52k (exactly $52,226) 念绣科技
Morningstar: Book of the Fallen $14.99 67 94% 2.0k $30k (exactly $30,130) Droid Productions
Primal Hearts $24.99 38 89% 1.1k $28k (exactly $28,489) Marmalade
Lilith Rising - Season 2 $7.99 116 66% 3.5k $28k (exactly $27,805) Jubei Games
Wings of Empire · EA $14.99 49 87% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Droid Productions

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