Games › Party-Based RPG › Party-Based RPG + Puzzle
Should I ship a Puzzle Party-Based RPG?
Party-Based RPG + Puzzle
Of 32 developers who shipped a Puzzle Party-Based RPG 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.. 60 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×258 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 60 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $24,325) |
| Top 5% | $162k (exactly $161,935) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 106 |
| Announced | 60 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Party-Based RPG
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Party-Based RPG, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Exploration, Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Lore-Rich, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 2,529 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Party-Based RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Board GameFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + IncrementalPoor odds
Comparable games
Legend of Grimrock 2 2014 · $2.2M 
Legend of Grimrock 2012 · $2.2M 
Shadows: Awakening 2018 · $1.4M 
CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION 2022 · $1.3M 
THE 4 SINS 2024 · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Legend of Grimrock 2 | older | $23.99 | 3,065 90% | 92k | $2.2M (exactly $2,205,880) | Almost Human Games |
| | Legend of Grimrock | older | $14.99 | 4,844 93% | 145k | $2.2M (exactly $2,178,347) | Almost Human Games |
| | Shadows: Awakening | older | $29.99 | 1,535 75% | 46k | $1.4M (exactly $1,381,040) | Games Farm |
| | CHRONO CROSS: THE RADICAL DREAMERS EDITION | older | $19.99 | 2,174 62% | 65k | $1.3M (exactly $1,303,748) | Square Enix, D4Enterprise Co.,Ltd. |
| | THE 4 SINS | older | $9.99 | 3,377 23% | 101k | $1.0M (exactly $1,012,087) | 奇门互娱 |
 | The Bard's Tale IV: Director's Cut | older | $34.99 | 694 77% | 21k | $728k (exactly $728,492) | inXile Entertainment |
 | Ledgerbound | $29.99 | 562 92% | 17k | $506k (exactly $505,631) | OmniMegaSuperCorp | |
 | Operencia: The Stolen Sun | older | $29.99 | 537 76% | 16k | $483k (exactly $483,139) | Zen Studios |
 | Potato Flowers in Full Bloom | older | $17.99 | 654 95% | 20k | $353k (exactly $352,964) | Pon Pon Games |
 | Aarklash: Legacy | older | $15.99 | 599 76% | 18k | $287k (exactly $287,340) | Cyanide Studio |
 | The Lonesome Guild | $24.99 | 216 94% | 6.5k | $162k (exactly $161,935) | Tiny Bull Studios | |
 | Flowstone Saga | $17.99 | 172 81% | 5.2k | $93k (exactly $92,828) | Impact Gameworks | |
 | Chained in the Backrooms | · EA | $2.99 | 933 68% | 28k | $84k (exactly $83,690) | Task+ Studios |
 | The Darkness Below | $16.99 | 78 80% | 2.3k | $40k (exactly $39,757) | ELEFTHERIADIS SAVVAS | |
 | SCRIBBLE HUNT | $3.99 | 302 81% | 9.1k | $36k (exactly $36,149) | SCRIBBLE BUNNY | |
 | OUTCLAW | $24.99 | 44 93% | 1.3k | $33k (exactly $32,987) | Moss Monkey | |
 | Vessel | $6.99 | 116 17% | 3.5k | $24k (exactly $24,325) | OJStudio | |
 | Chaos Entropy | $11.00 | 48 89% | 1.4k | $16k (exactly $15,840) | MILLIDIA | |
 | Ekorella Vol 1 | $6.99 | 58 100% | 1.7k | $12k (exactly $12,163) | Rockmaker Team |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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