Do I ship it?

Games › Score Attack › Score Attack + Match 3

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Match 3 Score Attack game?

Score Attack + Match 3

Of 58 developers who shipped a Match 3 Score Attack 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.. 51 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 38 developers shipped in the last year and 51 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 51 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Score Attack + Match 3
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 58
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $628 → $597 → $2.2k → $180 → $1.2k → $535 → $120 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Score Attack + Match 3: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 58
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 5% $38k (exactly $37,873)
Developers, 2 yr 58
Released games 177
Announced 51
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 70% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Match 3
effort 2 / 10 · high · grid matching rules and cascades

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Score Attack, Match 3; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Arcade, Physics
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 1,546 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $360, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $37k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. Nearly all of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Score Attack with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MechsFair23 devs · median $6.2k · 24 announced
  2. + Spectacle fighterFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  3. + DragonsFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  4. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $1.7k · 14 announced
  5. + CookingFair28 devs · median $1.4k · 30 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 5 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair112 devs · median $1.2k · 104 announced
  8. + GolfFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  9. + GothicFair20 devs · median $959 · 14 announced
  10. + ModernFair53 devs · median $899 · 43 announced
  11. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair14 devs · median $898 · 11 announced
  12. + UndergroundFair23 devs · median $748 · 18 announced

All 200 pairs on the Score Attack page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Lumines Arise 2025 · $1.0M LOLLIPOP! 2021 · $197k Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To 2025 · $143k Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine 2023 · $97k Tumblebugs 2022 · $74k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lumines Arise $39.99 848 94% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,017,346) Enhance, Monstars Inc.
LOLLIPOP! older $4.99 1,318 75% 40k $197k (exactly $197,305) 430Games, __Ja__ga__imo__
Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To $19.99 239 94% 7.2k $143k (exactly $143,328) Soft Not Weak, LLC
Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine older $9.99 325 56% 9.8k $97k (exactly $97,402) Headup
Tumblebugs older $19.99 123 91% 3.7k $74k (exactly $73,763) Wildfire Studios
Mixolumia older $9.99 187 97% 5.6k $56k (exactly $56,044) davemakes
Super Star Path older $4.99 340 82% 10k $51k (exactly $50,898) DYA Games
PancitoMerge $7.99 158 99% 4.7k $38k (exactly $37,873) Fáyer, Sketchy Ceviche
Rainbow Reactor older $14.99 71 94% 2.1k $32k (exactly $31,929) Tunermaxx Media GmbH, Muikkumedia Oy
sobosuba $3.99 178 99% 5.3k $21k (exactly $21,307) keepeetron
Writer's Block $9.99 34 94% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) SinksAdventure
Times Trials $11.99 20 100% 600 $7.2k (exactly $7,194) Arc-Fy
Jamhouse $7.99 29 100% 870 $7.0k (exactly $6,951) Lumworks
Avalon Jewels 2 Collector's Edition $14.99 11 90% 330 $4.9k (exactly $4,947) Anawiki Games
Ruina $9.99 12 100% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Broken Down Software
Spire Blast $6.99 17 100% 510 $3.6k (exactly $3,565) Orbital Knight

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