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Should I ship a Procedural Generation Swordplay game?
Swordplay + Procedural Generation
Only 16 developers shipped a Procedural Generation 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, Mortal Sin, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 49 more are announced, ×5.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $4.1M, ×6665 the market median. Revenue is up 1025% on the market; 49 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) |
| Top 5% | $4.2M (exactly $4,185,575) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 44 |
| Announced | 49 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.90 |
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 1025% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Swordplay
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Procedural Generation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Swordplay, Procedural Generation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Dungeon Crawler
- Price point
- $9.90 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.90.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 7,382 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different second tag, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mortal Sin | $24.99 | 5,583 94% | 167k | $4.2M (exactly $4,185,575) | Nikola Todorovic | |
| | Dungeons of Blood and Dream | $18.99 | 1,173 93% | 35k | $668k (exactly $668,258) | Lori Vornoy | |
| | City of Brass | older | $19.99 | 758 77% | 23k | $455k (exactly $454,573) | Uppercut Games Pty Ltd |
| | Ed-0: Zombie Uprising | older | $29.99 | 211 72% | 6.3k | $190k (exactly $189,837) | LANCARSE |
| | Darkblade Ascent | $10.99 | 551 80% | 17k | $182k (exactly $181,665) | PST Games | |
| | Knights Within | · EA older | $17.99 | 250 95% | 7.5k | $135k (exactly $134,925) | Indecision Labs |
| | Saber Fight VR | older | $14.99 | 162 65% | 4.9k | $73k (exactly $72,851) | Saber Fight VR |
| | Choice Chamber | older | $9.99 | 123 89% | 3.7k | $37k (exactly $36,863) | Studio Bean |
| | Dungeoneers | older | $19.99 | 58 82% | 1.7k | $35k (exactly $34,783) | Rogue Sword: Strategy & Adventure G… (Rogue Sword: Strategy & Adventure Games) |
| | Soul Scathe | older | $19.99 | 56 78% | 1.7k | $34k (exactly $33,583) | Bluelight Construct |
| | Crossings | $9.99 | 29 75% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | Neat Corporation | |
| | Dungeons and Warbands | · EA | $14.99 | 16 56% | 480 | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) | Omer Erenturk |
| | Adventurer's Gambit: Dungeons of Fortune | $12.99 | 11 81% | 330 | $4.3k (exactly $4,287) | Astana Games | |
| | Ruins of Endoth | · EA | $9.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) | KLG Games Ltd |
| | 懒人也江湖 | · EA | $4.99 | 7 57% | 210 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | 恒睿游戏 |
| | Ezmeralda | · EA | $4.99 | 5 20% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | Leifyy |
| | COLD BOOT | $3.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $239 (exactly $239) | DIG Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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