Should I ship a Mythological PvP game?
PvP + Mythology
Of 25 developers who shipped a paid Mythological PvP 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.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 117 more are announced, ×7.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300. 117 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.3 per shipper, while revenue is up 235% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) |
| Top 5% | $111k (exactly $110,589) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 140 |
| Announced | 117 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 up 235% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 51%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Crafting, Character Customization
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Third Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 19,237 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 117 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Age of Mythology: Retold | older | $29.99 | 20,943 90% | 628k | $19M (exactly $18,842,417) | World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantal… (World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, CaptureAge, Virtuos Games) |
| | Soulmask | $29.99 | 18,445 76% | 553k | $17M (exactly $16,594,966) | CampFire Studio | |
| | Ragnarock | older | $24.99 | 2,775 94% | 83k | $2.1M (exactly $2,080,417) | WanadevStudio |
| | Niffelheim | older | $19.99 | 1,820 73% | 55k | $1.1M (exactly $1,091,454) | Ellada Games |
| | PAGUI打鬼 | older | $19.99 | 1,189 82% | 36k | $713k (exactly $713,043) | padendon |
| | Fight of Gods | older | $14.99 | 762 83% | 23k | $343k (exactly $342,671) | Digital Crafter |
| | Demigod | older | $9.99 | 1,011 75% | 30k | $303k (exactly $302,997) | Gas Powered Games |
| | Blood Rage: Digital Edition | older | $19.99 | 477 58% | 14k | $286k (exactly $286,057) | Endava |
| | AutoChess of Gensokyo | · EA older | $15.99 | 355 67% | 11k | $170k (exactly $170,294) | MyACG Studio |
| | Camelot Unchained | · EA | $9.99 | 369 38% | 11k | $111k (exactly $110,589) | Unchained Entertainment |
| | AQUAPAZZA: Aquaplus Dream Match | $19.99 | 104 33% | 3.1k | $62k (exactly $62,369) | AQUAPLUS | |
| | Kiln | $7.99 | 154 74% | 4.6k | $37k (exactly $36,914) | Double Fine Productions | |
| | Vienkiemis | · EA | $12.99 | 44 100% | 1.3k | $17k (exactly $17,147) | dssob, SMEIVIS |
| | Summoner's Gambit | $7.99 | 69 52% | 2.1k | $17k (exactly $16,539) | Billion Studio | |
| | Tutien Path | $14.99 | 16 81% | 480 | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) | Truong Thanh Triet | |
| | Mind of War | · EA | $10.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $4.3k (exactly $4,286) | Pi Video games |
| | MAK: Survival | · EA | $7.99 | 7 42% | 210 | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) | Two Friend Studios |
| | Wyrd Waters | $1.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $955 (exactly $955) | Maximalist |
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.