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Should I ship a Mystery Parkour game?
Parkour + Mystery
Of 28 developers who shipped a Mystery Parkour 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.. 50 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×434 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 50 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,948) |
| Top 25% | $8.1k (exactly $8,092) |
| Top 5% | $273k (exactly $272,609) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 76 |
| Announced | 50 |
| 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 85% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Parkour; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Platformer, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Third Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 2,634 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Parkour with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Precision PlatformerLong shot
- + MetroidvaniaPoor odds
- + SkateboardingPoor odds
- + SwordplayPoor odds
- + Hack and SlashPoor odds
- + Dark FantasyPoor odds
- + ModernPoor odds
- + CatsPoor odds
- + DestructionPoor odds
- + StealthPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Submerged | older | $19.99 | 4,328 75% | 130k | $2.6M (exactly $2,595,502) | Uppercut Games Pty Ltd |
| | Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered | $29.99 | 1,507 89% | 45k | $1.4M (exactly $1,355,848) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
| | Aphelion | $29.99 | 303 63% | 9.1k | $273k (exactly $272,609) | DON'T NOD | |
| | BLACKSHARD | $14.99 | 432 91% | 13k | $194k (exactly $194,270) | Redlock Studio, Enclave | |
| | Everdeep Aurora | $19.99 | 177 89% | 5.3k | $106k (exactly $106,147) | Nautilus Games | |
| | Matter | older | $4.99 | 159 88% | 4.8k | $24k (exactly $23,802) | Uki Uki Lab, Concrete Games |
| | Jumpbound | $12.99 | 50 94% | 1.5k | $19k (exactly $19,485) | Another Round Entertainment | |
| | Reflection: The Greed | older | $6.99 | 66 65% | 2.0k | $14k (exactly $13,840) | Zonex Entertainment Studios |
| | Not Sure About That | $4.99 | 76 98% | 2.3k | $11k (exactly $11,377) | Scratch | |
| | CROW | $9.99 | 27 85% | 810 | $8.1k (exactly $8,092) | Uniday Studio | |
| | Malevolent Madness | $9.99 | 19 89% | 570 | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) | NEBULA NOVA GAMES | |
| | GwenBlade: Halloween | $5.99 | 27 92% | 810 | $4.9k (exactly $4,852) | ArcWillow | |
| | Zerun: The Tiny Planet | $7.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $3.8k (exactly $3,835) | Mirakar Studio, CINEMAX GAMES |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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