Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Mystery
Of 60 developers who shipped a Mystery Metroidvania 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.. 193 more are announced, ×6.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.6k, ×9.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $610k, ×1286 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 193 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.6k (exactly $4,616) |
| Top 25% | $27k (exactly $27,495) |
| Top 5% | $611k (exactly $610,693) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 60 |
| Released games | 155 |
| Announced | 193 |
| 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 down 35% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Action
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 14,236 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.3k. 8 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 193 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
ANIMAL WELL 2024 · $17M 
Eastshade 2019 · $3.9M 
FEZ 2013 · $3.5M 
MIO: Memories in Orbit 2026 · $2.6M 
The Swapper 2013 · $2.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ANIMAL WELL | older | $24.99 | 22,814 95% | 684k | $17M (exactly $17,103,656) | Billy Basso |
| | Eastshade | older | $24.99 | 5,183 89% | 155k | $3.9M (exactly $3,885,695) | Eastshade Studios |
| | FEZ | older | $9.99 | 11,663 93% | 350k | $3.5M (exactly $3,495,401) | Polytron Corporation |
| | MIO: Memories in Orbit | $19.99 | 4,300 83% | 129k | $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) | Douze Dixièmes | |
| | The Swapper | older | $14.99 | 5,065 93% | 152k | $2.3M (exactly $2,277,730) | Olli Harjola, Otto Hantula, Tom Jubert,… (Olli Harjola, Otto Hantula, Tom Jubert, Carlo Castellano) |
 | Owlboy | older | $19.99 | 3,679 85% | 110k | $2.2M (exactly $2,206,296) | D-Pad Studio |
 | Caravan SandWitch | older | $24.99 | 2,797 88% | 84k | $2.1M (exactly $2,096,911) | Studio Plane Toast |
 | Öoo | $9.99 | 6,575 99% | 197k | $2.0M (exactly $1,970,528) | NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuy… (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi) | |
 | Crystal Project | older | $13.99 | 2,510 91% | 75k | $1.1M (exactly $1,053,447) | Andrew Willman |
 | Narita Boy | older | $24.99 | 1,162 79% | 35k | $871k (exactly $871,151) | Studio Koba |
 | BLADECHIMERA | $14.99 | 1,358 88% | 41k | $611k (exactly $610,693) | Team Ladybug, WSS playground | |
 | Zefyr: A Thief's Melody | $19.99 | 401 96% | 12k | $240k (exactly $240,480) | Oneiric Worlds | |
 | Pinball Spire | $14.99 | 410 84% | 12k | $184k (exactly $184,377) | Apparition Games | |
 | Lingo 2 | $9.99 | 443 93% | 13k | $133k (exactly $132,767) | Brenton Wildes | |
 | Kromlech | · EA | $29.99 | 136 65% | 4.1k | $122k (exactly $122,359) | Perun Creative |
 | EMUUROM | $12.49 | 302 90% | 9.1k | $113k (exactly $113,159) | borbware | |
 | Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times | $14.99 | 243 96% | 7.3k | $109k (exactly $109,277) | SlugGlove | |
 | The Perfect Pencil | $24.99 | 68 70% | 2.0k | $51k (exactly $50,980) | Studio Cima |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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