Do I ship it?

GamesVisual NovelVisual Novel + Military

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Military Visual Novel?

Visual Novel + Military

Of 33 developers who shipped a Military 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.. 39 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×604 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 39 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 39 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Visual Novel + Military
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $202k → $5.4k → $12k → $2.1k → $3.5k → $2.1k → $359 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Visual Novel + Military: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,169)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,285)
Top 5% $379k (exactly $379,097)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 113
Announced 39
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 80% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Military
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Choose Your Own Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 3,622 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 23 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
Muv-Luv Alternative older $39.99 3,447 95% 103k $4.1M (exactly $4,135,366) aNCHOR Inc.
eden* older $19.99 4,098 98% 123k $2.5M (exactly $2,457,571) minori
Conquer the world $12.99 1,996 92% 60k $778k (exactly $777,841) 互动之星
Eiyu*Senki Gold – A New Conquest older $34.99 398 85% 12k $418k (exactly $417,781) Tenco
Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog $14.99 843 90% 25k $379k (exactly $379,097) Space Colony Studios
Long Gone Days older $24.99 468 88% 14k $351k (exactly $350,860) This I Dreamt
Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse Remastered older $39.99 250 94% 7.5k $300k (exactly $299,925) aNCHOR Inc., fuzz, Inc.
Sunrider 4: The Captain's Return older $29.99 264 88% 7.9k $238k (exactly $237,521) Love in Space
ISEKAI FRONTLINE older $3.99 1,806 77% 54k $216k (exactly $216,178) Studio Ginkgo
Long Dream older $6.99 962 98% 29k $202k (exactly $201,731) WildMonkey
Lavender Quartz 境界秤動 $11.99 300 95% 9.0k $108k (exactly $107,910) Edanoue, Inc.
Phantom PHANTOM OF INFERNO NITRO ARCHIVE $29.99 108 94% 3.2k $97k (exactly $97,168) NITRO PLUS, NITRO ORIGIN
Peach Hills Division $19.99 94 56% 2.8k $56k (exactly $56,372) GatoLobo
Agent Horny - Season 1 $14.99 66 75% 2.0k $30k (exactly $29,680) Mr.CreepGames
Wings of Empire · EA $14.99 49 87% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) Droid Productions
Hello Girl $6.99 94 97% 2.8k $20k (exactly $19,712) Imo Team
Cycle of Struggle: Ardengrad · EA $9.99 51 98% 1.5k $15k (exactly $15,285) Visionary Impact
Cerulean Invasion $18.99 21 76% 630 $12k (exactly $11,964) Vincere Studio

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