Do I ship it?

GamesOpen WorldOpen World + Noir

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Noir Open World game?

Open World + Noir

Only 19 developers shipped a Noir Open World 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, Shadows of Doubt, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 46 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.6k, ×4.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $10M, ×7330 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 46 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 46 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Noir
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $716k → $11k → $2.5M → $13k → $3.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + Noir: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Median $6.6k (exactly $6,594)
Top 25% $170k (exactly $169,715)
Top 5% $11M (exactly $10,980,106)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 65
Announced 46
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $10.99

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 95% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Noir
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Open World; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Sandbox, Immersive Sim
Price point
$10.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 25,719 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $6.6k, 1 in 4 over $160k, 1 in 20 over $10M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 4 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Open World with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Disco Elysium - The Final Cut older $39.99 118,124 92% 3.5M $142M (exactly $141,713,363) ZA/UM
Mafia: Definitive Edition older $39.99 88,955 86% 2.7M $107M (exactly $106,719,314) Hangar 13
Max Payne 3 older $19.99 55,150 86% 1.7M $33M (exactly $33,073,455) Rockstar Studios
Mafia II: Definitive Edition older $29.99 28,886 74% 867k $26M (exactly $25,988,734) Hangar 13, D3T
L.A. Noire older $19.99 31,099 85% 933k $19M (exactly $18,650,070) Team Bondi, Rockstar Leeds
Shadows of Doubt $24.99 14,646 82% 439k $11M (exactly $10,980,106) ColePowered Games
Murdered: Soul Suspect older $19.99 12,051 87% 362k $7.2M (exactly $7,226,985) Airtight Games
The Precinct $29.99 7,837 87% 235k $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) Fallen Tree Games Ltd
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified older $19.99 4,857 67% 146k $2.9M (exactly $2,912,743) 2K Marin
Psycho Patrol R · EA $39.99 2,090 88% 63k $2.5M (exactly $2,507,373) Consumer Softproducts
Deliver At All Costs $29.99 320 73% 9.6k $288k (exactly $287,904) Studio Far Out Games
Vaudeville $19.99 283 48% 8.5k $170k (exactly $169,715) Bumblebee Studios
Glitchpunk $19.99 174 47% 5.2k $104k (exactly $104,348) Dark Lord
Mosaic of the Strange $12.99 226 92% 6.8k $88k (exactly $88,072) Mark Ffrench
Serra de Deus $4.99 85 94% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,724) David Pateti
A Death in the Red Light $9.99 38 73% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) Mystery City Games BV
The Midnight Crimes $10.99 20 60% 600 $6.6k (exactly $6,594) DeadlyCrow Games

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