Games › Puzzle › Puzzle + Post-apocalyptic
Should I ship a Post-apocalyptic Puzzle game?
Puzzle + Post-apocalyptic
Of 130 developers who shipped a Post-apocalyptic Puzzle 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.. 272 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×235 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 272 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
| Top 25% | $6.9k (exactly $6,920) |
| Top 5% | $148k (exactly $147,551) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 130 |
| Released games | 449 |
| Announced | 272 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Puzzle
- effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data
- Post-apocalyptic
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 9,019 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 78 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 272 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Medical SimFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + VampiresFair
- + CatsFair
- + DemonsFair
- + God GameFair
- + RomanceFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + LemmingsFair
Comparable games
A Plague Tale: Innocence 2019 · $76M 
The Talos Principle 2014 · $26M 
Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition 2009 · $21M 
Darksiders III 2018 · $15M 
The Talos Principle 2 2023 · $11M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | A Plague Tale: Innocence | older | $39.99 | 63,166 93% | 1.9M | $76M (exactly $75,780,250) | Asobo Studio |
| | The Talos Principle | older | $29.99 | 29,237 95% | 877k | $26M (exactly $26,304,529) | Croteam |
| | Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition | older | $4.99 | 143,506 97% | 4.3M | $21M (exactly $21,482,848) | PopCap Games, Inc. |
| | Darksiders III | older | $39.99 | 12,519 75% | 376k | $15M (exactly $15,019,044) | Gunfire Games |
| | The Talos Principle 2 | older | $29.99 | 12,478 94% | 374k | $11M (exactly $11,226,457) | Croteam |
 | FAR: Lone Sails | older | $14.99 | 24,474 95% | 734k | $11M (exactly $11,005,958) | Okomotive |
 | Darksiders Warmastered Edition | older | $19.99 | 13,942 88% | 418k | $8.4M (exactly $8,361,017) | KAIKO, Vigil Games |
 | Terra Nil | older | $24.99 | 8,035 87% | 241k | $6.0M (exactly $6,023,840) | Free Lives, Clockwork Acorn |
 | ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game | older | $14.99 | 9,991 84% | 300k | $4.5M (exactly $4,492,953) | AtomTeam |
 | Deadlight | older | $14.99 | 9,386 78% | 282k | $4.2M (exactly $4,220,884) | Tequila Works, S.L. |
 | A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead | $29.99 | 2,331 74% | 70k | $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) | Stormind Games | |
 | The Talos Principle: Reawakened | $39.99 | 1,085 90% | 33k | $1.3M (exactly $1,301,674) | Croteam | |
 | Hail to the Rainbow | $14.99 | 2,533 90% | 76k | $1.1M (exactly $1,139,090) | Носков Сергей | |
 | Paranoia Place: Escape Together | $7.99 | 1,555 87% | 47k | $373k (exactly $372,734) | Bloody Pixel Games | |
 | Necrophosis | $15.99 | 722 89% | 22k | $346k (exactly $346,343) | Dragonis Ares, Adonis Brosteanu | |
 | Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate | $49.99 | 149 62% | 4.5k | $223k (exactly $223,455) | Mighty Eyes | |
 | SLEEP AWAKE | $29.99 | 164 71% | 4.9k | $148k (exactly $147,551) | EYES OUT, LLC. | |
 | Daymare Town | $24.99 | 117 98% | 3.5k | $88k (exactly $87,715) | Mateusz Skutnik | |
 | River Towns | $14.99 | 184 89% | 5.5k | $83k (exactly $82,745) | Frogsong Studios | |
 | Anoxia Station | $14.99 | 179 76% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Bonereaders |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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