Do I ship it?

GamesWord GameWord Game + Modern

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Modern-Day Word Game?

Word Game + Modern

Of 23 developers who shipped a Modern-Day Word 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.. 40 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150, ×0.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 40 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper, while revenue is up 64330% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 64330% on the market, 40 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Word Game + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $4.9k → $1.2k → $20k → $0 → $1.8k → $150 (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Word Game + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $6.5k (exactly $6,469)
Top 5% $20k (exactly $20,210)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 79
Announced 40
Effort 4 / 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI
Modern
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
Word Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Dating Sim, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, 2D, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 1,681 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $150, 1 in 4 over $6.4k, 1 in 20 over $20k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Word Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SurvivalFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  2. + TacticalFair23 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  3. + Point & ClickFair60 devs · median $1.6k · 56 announced
  4. + LootFair15 devs · median $1.6k · 8 announced
  5. + AutomationFair12 devs · median $1.6k · 11 announced
  6. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair55 devs · median $1.4k · 65 announced
  7. + DetectiveFair82 devs · median $1.3k · 90 announced
  8. + Procedural GenerationFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair18 devs · median $1.2k · 16 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair29 devs · median $1.2k · 26 announced
  11. + IncrementalFair91 devs · median $1.2k · 77 announced
  12. + NatureFair12 devs · median $1.0k · 8 announced

All 98 pairs on the Word Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Retirement Simulator · EA older $13.99 3,757 34% 113k $1.6M (exactly $1,576,813) DoubleThink Studio
月球坠落时 Moon Fall older $14.99 982 87% 29k $442k (exactly $441,605) Xihe Animation, JasminsSummer Project
Anomalous Coffee Machine 2 $6.99 753 81% 23k $158k (exactly $157,904) HoruBrain Interactive
风岬-The Everlasting lovestory at the Windcap older $5.99 787 86% 24k $141k (exactly $141,424) 百歌CentChansons
Sex Lens: A Porn Story 🍓🎥 older $9.99 136 58% 4.1k $41k (exactly $40,759) Romantic Room
Porno Empire [18+] older $9.99 132 60% 4.0k $40k (exactly $39,560) Romantic Room
Rich Lady's Slave Role Play older $9.99 118 83% 3.5k $35k (exactly $35,365) Asami
Cruel Reality: A horrible dream older $29.99 38 97% 1.1k $34k (exactly $34,189) Keer&Deem Creations
PIMP Life: Sex Simulator 🔞 older $9.99 111 72% 3.3k $33k (exactly $33,267) Romantic Room
SEX Massage 2 🔞 older $6.99 116 78% 3.5k $24k (exactly $24,325) BanzaiProject
大鹏 - The Roc $4.99 135 91% 4.1k $20k (exactly $20,210) 折扶桑制作组
The Kuon Island Nursery Rhyme Murders: Case Notes $7.99 82 54% 2.5k $20k (exactly $19,655) Renka
我的高冷女友 MY COLD GIRLFRIEND $1.99 319 79% 9.6k $19k (exactly $19,044) SuiKa Soft
How Much for the Body in the Freezer $1.99 225 92% 6.8k $13k (exactly $13,432) Renka
我与她们的大学画相 $3.99 77 88% 2.3k $9.2k (exactly $9,217) 月乃社
幻觉病理 $5.99 36 75% 1.1k $6.5k (exactly $6,469) 水仙肉桂
ComicKingdom $2.99 35 100% 1.1k $3.1k (exactly $3,140) HippoCube
Persona Shell $3.99 15 80% 450 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) 遊樂黨 Yo!DawnLa
Grammar Grind $9.99 4 75% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Skylor Beck

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