Games › Puzzle › Puzzle + Romance
Should I ship a Romance Puzzle game?
Puzzle + Romance
Of 209 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 251 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×8.8 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $240. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 251 games are announced against 131 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $8.6k (exactly $8,573) |
| Top 5% | $175k (exactly $175,112) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 209 |
| Released games | 1,195 |
| Announced | 251 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $2.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Systems
- Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Dating Sim, Adventure
- Price point
- $2.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 20,656 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 220 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 251 games are announced against 131 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
- + AutomationFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + LemmingsFair
- + CookingFair
Comparable games
FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster 2016 · $18M 
House Party 2022 · $10M 
There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension 2020 · $9.4M 
HuniePop 2015 · $7.2M 
HuniePop 2: Double Date 2021 · $4.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster | older | $29.99 | 19,857 87% | 596k | $18M (exactly $17,865,343) | Square Enix |
| | House Party | older | $24.99 | 13,968 85% | 419k | $10M (exactly $10,471,810) | Eek! Games, LLC |
| | There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension | older | $12.99 | 24,144 97% | 724k | $9.4M (exactly $9,408,917) | Draw Me A Pixel |
| | HuniePop | older | $9.99 | 23,989 96% | 720k | $7.2M (exactly $7,189,503) | HuniePot |
| | HuniePop 2: Double Date | older | $19.99 | 8,149 91% | 244k | $4.9M (exactly $4,886,955) | HuniePot |
 | Storyteller | older | $14.99 | 8,169 88% | 245k | $3.7M (exactly $3,673,599) | Daniel Benmergui |
 | Deponia: The Complete Journey | older | $29.99 | 3,375 85% | 101k | $3.0M (exactly $3,036,488) | Daedalic Entertainment |
 | The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall | $11.99 | 8,227 58% | 247k | $3.0M (exactly $2,959,252) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) | |
 | LoveChoice | older | $1.99 | 32,353 92% | 971k | $1.9M (exactly $1,931,474) | Akaba Studio |
 | The Bridge Curse Road to Salvation | older | $19.99 | 2,989 89% | 90k | $1.8M (exactly $1,792,503) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT |
 | 月华辉映之刻 | $11.99 | 4,227 89% | 127k | $1.5M (exactly $1,520,452) | 侠客狗工作室 | |
 | SHUTEN ORDER | $49.99 | 712 80% | 21k | $1.1M (exactly $1,067,786) | Neilo Inc. | |
 | Crushed In Time | $24.99 | 1,247 90% | 37k | $935k (exactly $934,876) | Draw Me A Pixel | |
 | AI2U: With You 'Til The End | $14.99 | 2,073 87% | 62k | $932k (exactly $932,228) | AlterStaff Inc. | |
 | Incantation | $16.99 | 1,106 73% | 33k | $564k (exactly $563,728) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT | |
 | Ledgerbound | $29.99 | 562 92% | 17k | $506k (exactly $505,631) | OmniMegaSuperCorp | |
 | Foolish Mortals | $19.99 | 663 94% | 20k | $398k (exactly $397,601) | Inklingwood Studios | |
 | MILFs of Sunville - Season 2 | $9.99 | 1,281 88% | 38k | $384k (exactly $383,916) | L7team | |
 | Refate: Echoes of Desire | $14.99 | 558 87% | 17k | $251k (exactly $250,933) | Terraflame Entertainment |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.