Do I ship it?

Games › Score Attack › Score Attack + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Score Attack game?

Score Attack + Puzzle

Of 412 developers who shipped a Puzzle Score Attack 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.. 371 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $210 in the last 2 years and $330 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 263 developers shipped in the last year and 371 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 371 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Score Attack + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 412
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $628 → $718 → $719 → $449 → $179 → $179 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Score Attack + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 412
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $208 (exactly $208)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 5% $21k (exactly $21,307)
Developers, 2 yr 412
Released games 1,233
Announced 371
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 25% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Score Attack, Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Arcade
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 33,153 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $210, 1 in 4 over $1.2k, 1 in 20 over $21k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 221 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 371 games are announced against 263 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Score Attack with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MechsFair23 devs · median $6.2k · 24 announced
  2. + Spectacle fighterFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  3. + DragonsFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  4. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $1.7k · 14 announced
  5. + CookingFair28 devs · median $1.4k · 30 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 5 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair112 devs · median $1.2k · 104 announced
  8. + GolfFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  9. + GothicFair20 devs · median $959 · 14 announced
  10. + ModernFair53 devs · median $899 · 43 announced
  11. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair14 devs · median $898 · 11 announced
  12. + UndergroundFair23 devs · median $748 · 18 announced

All 200 pairs on the Score Attack page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Tetris® Effect: Connected 2021 · $10M Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! 2026 · $4.4M Melatonin 2022 · $3.4M AudioSurf 2008 · $2.7M ISLANDERS 2019 · $2.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tetris® Effect: Connected older $39.99 8,429 94% 253k $10M (exactly $10,112,271) Monstars Inc., Resonair, Stage Games
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! $5.99 24,497 94% 735k $4.4M (exactly $4,402,111) ArtRising
Melatonin older $14.99 7,554 94% 227k $3.4M (exactly $3,397,034) Half Asleep
AudioSurf older $9.99 8,901 95% 267k $2.7M (exactly $2,667,630) Dylan Fitterer
ISLANDERS older $4.99 16,104 94% 483k $2.4M (exactly $2,410,769) Coatsink, GrizzlyGames, Stage Clear Stu… (Coatsink, GrizzlyGames, Stage Clear Studios)
ANTONBLAST $19.99 3,943 95% 118k $2.4M (exactly $2,364,617) Summitsphere
Wuppo: Definitive Edition older $14.99 4,949 94% 148k $2.2M (exactly $2,225,565) snekflat
Super Hexagon older $2.99 18,371 97% 551k $1.6M (exactly $1,647,879) Terry Cavanagh
PAC-MAN™ Championship Edition DX+ older $9.99 4,982 96% 149k $1.5M (exactly $1,493,105) Mine Loader Software Co., Ltd.
Lumines Arise $39.99 848 94% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,017,346) Enhance, Monstars Inc.
TETRIS® THE GRAND MASTER 4 -ABSOLUTE EYE- $24.99 610 87% 18k $457k (exactly $457,317) ARIKA
ISLANDERS: New Shores $9.99 1,230 96% 37k $369k (exactly $368,631) The Station
Tetris® Forever $34.99 304 74% 9.1k $319k (exactly $319,109) Digital Eclipse
Urban Jungle $11.99 667 90% 20k $240k (exactly $239,920) KYLYK
Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To $19.99 239 94% 7.2k $143k (exactly $143,328) Soft Not Weak, LLC
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
GRIDROAD $9.99 385 82% 12k $115k (exactly $115,384) RAJACORP

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