Games › Match 3 › Match 3 + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Match 3?
Match 3 + Sci-fi
Only 9 developers shipped a Sci-fi Match 3 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, POPUCOM, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 18 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $180 against a market of $480. 18 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $180 (exactly $180) |
| Top 25% | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) |
| Top 5% | $2.1M (exactly $2,058,170) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 34 |
| Announced | 18 |
| 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% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- Match 3
- Price point
- $5.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 4,955 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Match 3 with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DemonsFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + ShooterFair
- + MagicFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + PvPLong shot
- + CombatLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | POPUCOM | $19.99 | 3,432 87% | 103k | $2.1M (exactly $2,058,170) | Hypergryph | |
| | Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 | $19.99 | 341 96% | 10k | $204k (exactly $204,498) | Strange Scaffold | |
| | Puzzle Quest: Galactrix | older | $9.99 | 311 49% | 9.3k | $93k (exactly $93,207) | Infinite Interactive |
| | Super Star Path | older | $4.99 | 340 82% | 10k | $51k (exactly $50,898) | DYA Games |
| | Rainbow Reactor | older | $14.99 | 71 94% | 2.1k | $32k (exactly $31,929) | Tunermaxx Media GmbH, Muikkumedia Oy |
| | SEX Tentacles [18+] | older | $3.99 | 181 57% | 5.4k | $22k (exactly $21,666) | Romantic Room |
| | CyberCum: Pussy Attack❗️ | older | $3.99 | 131 61% | 3.9k | $16k (exactly $15,681) | Octo Games |
| | Orbox C | older | $4.99 | 76 93% | 2.3k | $11k (exactly $11,377) | wins_84, gamebalance |
| | Furry Love & Sex | older | $6.99 | 51 82% | 1.5k | $11k (exactly $10,695) | Octo Games |
| | Torment Hexus | · EA | $9.99 | 21 100% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | TMA Games LLC |
| | Space Bubbles Must Die! | $2.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $449 (exactly $449) | FobTi interactive | |
| | Junk-o-Tron | $5.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $180 (exactly $180) | Kobold's Keep Games | |
| | Neo-Node | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | AcanLord | |
| | StarL 6 | $2.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $90 (exactly $90) | IteraLabs | |
| | FISTAGON | $10.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Virtual Dawn | |
| | K-Bot | $1.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | EncreStarStudio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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