Games › Swordplay › Swordplay + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Swordplay game?
Swordplay + Mystery
Only 10 developers shipped a Mystery Swordplay game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 43 more are announced, ×11 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $3.3k against a market of $630. 43 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $836 (exactly $836) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) |
| Top 25% | $7.5k (exactly $7,541) |
| Top 5% | $24M (exactly $23,682,516) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 10 |
| Released games | 26 |
| Announced | 43 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 20% on the market, supply 35% 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
- Swordplay
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 8 games average 88% positive over 12,878 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $840. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×11 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Shoot 'Em UpLong shot
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + FightingPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Onimusha: Way of the Sword | $69.99 | 11,279 89% | 338k | $24M (exactly $23,682,516) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Echoes of the End: Enhanced Edition | $39.99 | 1,484 78% | 45k | $1.8M (exactly $1,780,355) | Myrkur Games | |
| | Omensight: Definitive Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,174 88% | 35k | $704k (exactly $704,048) | Spearhead Games |
| | Touken Ranbu Warriors | older | $59.99 | 197 87% | 5.9k | $355k (exactly $354,541) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | 1428: Shadows over Silesia | older | $19.99 | 201 72% | 6.0k | $121k (exactly $120,540) | KUBI Games |
| | Wéko The Mask Gatherer | older | $19.99 | 49 85% | 1.5k | $29k (exactly $29,385) | SIRO GAMES Sarl |
| | Demons of Asteborg | older | $9.99 | 41 87% | 1.2k | $12k (exactly $12,288) | Neofid Studios, Nindo |
| | Dark Sword: The Light of Ainn | $3.99 | 63 93% | 1.9k | $7.5k (exactly $7,541) | MrDoth | |
| | Ancient Mind | $11.99 | 20 70% | 600 | $7.2k (exactly $7,194) | HexagonNico | |
| | Drag'N Dungeon | $9.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | Demon Girl | |
| | Luminous Plume | older | $9.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | XenoHorizon |
| | RHYTHMIC | · EA | $9.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) | Polar Studios Robin Kammel |
| | One True Path - Part 1 | $1.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $836 (exactly $836) | InnerspaceVR | |
| | Frog & Blade | $8.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $539 (exactly $539) | StarGazer | |
| | Blade And Dragon VR | $9.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Fori Studio | |
| | Cryptoria | $2.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | XnaxlZzz_Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.