Do I ship it?

GamesVisual NovelVisual Novel + Medieval

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Medieval Visual Novel?

Visual Novel + Medieval

Of 169 developers who shipped a Medieval 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.. 233 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 $3.6k, ×7.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×644 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 233 games are announced against 106 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 233 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Visual Novel + Medieval
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 169
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $7.5k → $7.3k → $5.4k → $3.4k → $4.5k → $2.2k (still earning) → $3.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Visual Novel + Medieval: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 169
Bottom 30% $838 (exactly $838)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $30k (exactly $29,855)
Top 5% $306k (exactly $305,952)
Developers, 2 yr 169
Released games 474
Announced 233
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 flat on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Medieval
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Choices Matter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 11,391 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $840, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $29k, 1 in 20 over $300k.

3 in 10 developers made under $840. 7 in 10 of the 90 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 233 games are announced against 106 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
The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty older $9.99 49,765 94% 1.5M $15M (exactly $14,914,570) 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame)
Volcano Princess older $10.99 45,019 97% 1.4M $15M (exactly $14,842,764) 养蛋人 Egg Hatcher
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales older $19.99 15,665 89% 470k $9.4M (exactly $9,394,300) CD PROJEKT RED
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante older $19.99 8,151 89% 245k $4.9M (exactly $4,888,155) Sever, Schisma Games
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth older $19.99 5,926 92% 178k $3.6M (exactly $3,553,822) Daedalic Entertainment
Sovereign Tower $19.99 3,087 93% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,851,274) WILD WITS GAMES
Long Live The Queen older $9.99 5,832 94% 175k $1.7M (exactly $1,747,850) Hanako Games
The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian $24.99 1,356 74% 41k $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) Schisma Games
Princess Maker 2 Refine older $19.99 1,610 93% 48k $966k (exactly $965,517) CFK Co., Ltd.
Resist the succubus—The end of the female Knight older $16.99 1,370 74% 41k $698k (exactly $698,289) BoRoBoRoGame
Corruption Town · EA $14.99 992 88% 30k $446k (exactly $446,102) BoredBasmati
Handyman Fantasy $7.99 1,607 95% 48k $385k (exactly $385,198) SupaShinKen Studio
Jerez's Arena Ⅲ $19.99 613 89% 18k $368k (exactly $367,616) WorkNite Games
Fallen Priestess: My Sister's Demonic Bloodline $18.99 622 72% 19k $354k (exactly $354,353) BBQ大好き
Between Two Worlds $14.99 760 82% 23k $342k (exactly $341,772) Drooskati Games
Fallen / Brand New World $29.99 356 94% 11k $320k (exactly $320,293) Parthia Studio LLC
Forbidden Fantasy $6.99 1,459 88% 44k $306k (exactly $305,952) OppaiMan Studios
Putrika 1st.cut:The Reason She Must Perish $17.99 539 94% 16k $291k (exactly $290,898) トトメトリ

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