Do I ship it?

GamesQuick-Time EventsQuick-Time Events + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Puzzle game?

Quick-Time Events + Puzzle

Of 84 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events 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.. 92 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $140; 1 in 20 cleared $42k, ×90 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 92 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 92 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Quick-Time Events + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 84
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $772 → $449 → $150 → $239 → $300 → $719 → $599 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Quick-Time Events + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 84
Bottom 30% $135 (exactly $135)
Median $538 (exactly $538)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,352)
Top 5% $43k (exactly $42,733)
Developers, 2 yr 84
Released games 222
Announced 92
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 40% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Quick-Time Events
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Quick-Time Events, Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, First-Person, Linear
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 4,030 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $140, median $540, 1 in 4 over $3.3k, 1 in 20 over $42k.

3 in 10 developers made under $140. 9 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 92 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Quick-Time Events with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  2. + Shoot 'Em UpFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  3. + Life SimFair28 devs · median $958 · 33 announced
  4. + SimulationFair116 devs · median $748 · 133 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $720 · 18 announced
  6. + Resource ManagementFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $657 · 9 announced
  8. + AliensFair12 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  9. + SpaceFair16 devs · median $597 · 24 announced
  10. + Bullet TimeLong shot10 devs · median $390 · 15 announced
  11. + DemonsLong shot17 devs · median $300 · 22 announced
  12. + Bullet HellLong shot27 devs · median $239 · 25 announced

All 110 pairs on the Quick-Time Events page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tomb Raider Game of the Year older $19.99 173,270 95% 5.2M $104M (exactly $103,910,019) Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral… (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral Interactive (Mac), Nixxes)
Assassin’s Creed® Rogue older $19.99 21,310 86% 639k $13M (exactly $12,779,607) Ubisoft Sofia, Ubisoft Kiev
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead $29.99 2,331 74% 70k $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) Stormind Games
Costume Quest older $9.99 2,606 95% 78k $781k (exactly $781,018) Double Fine Productions
Bad Rats: the Rats' Revenge older $1.99 7,062 77% 212k $422k (exactly $421,601) Invent4 Entertainment
Superscout older $17.99 652 75% 20k $352k (exactly $351,884) Mountain and Sea Studio
The Occultist $29.99 244 74% 7.3k $220k (exactly $219,527) DALOAR
The Bad Kids older $7.99 577 75% 17k $138k (exactly $138,307) Aluba Van+
Eyes: The Horror Game older $4.99 923 90% 28k $138k (exactly $138,173) Fearless Games
Broken Sword 3 - the Sleeping Dragon (2003) older $5.99 750 55% 23k $135k (exactly $134,775) Revolution Software Ltd
Angel Engine $7.99 303 80% 9.1k $73k (exactly $72,629) HMS Studios, Black Lantern Collective
KunKunNest $3.99 434 95% 13k $52k (exactly $51,950) JNTM, KunKunRoom, 鸡你太美
蜀汉再临:源起 Restart ShuHan Dynasty:Origin $3.99 357 76% 11k $43k (exactly $42,733) 浙江海蕊盈信网络科技有限公司
Neon Blood $17.99 73 60% 2.2k $39k (exactly $39,398) ChaoticBrain Studios
The Supper: New Blood $9.99 120 88% 3.6k $36k (exactly $35,964) White Blanket Games
U.N.P.O.C. Vessel of Opportunity $12.99 70 68% 2.1k $27k (exactly $27,279) Danny Ziemer
Lost and found - What if I come and find it $15.99 36 88% 1.1k $17k (exactly $17,269) Gadir Team
MILF Sex Prison: Sector X $7.99 62 75% 1.9k $15k (exactly $14,861) Kinky Business Group

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