Games › Puzzle › Puzzle + Western
Should I ship a Western Puzzle game?
Puzzle + Western
Of 27 developers who shipped a Western 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.. 27 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $59; 1 in 20 cleared $29k, ×46 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 27 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $59 (exactly $59) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) |
| Top 5% | $29k (exactly $29,071) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 27 |
| Released games | 69 |
| Announced | 27 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 90% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Strategy, Tabletop
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 474 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $59. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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
West of Loathing 2017 · $3.2M 
Westworld Awakening 2019 · $374k 
Nancy Drew®: The Secret of Shadow Ranch 2017 · $65k 
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale 2020 · $62k 
Diorama Builder 2024 · $59k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | West of Loathing | older | $10.99 | 9,716 97% | 291k | $3.2M (exactly $3,203,365) | Asymmetric |
| | Westworld Awakening | older | $29.99 | 416 78% | 12k | $374k (exactly $374,275) | Survios |
| | Nancy Drew®: The Secret of Shadow Ranch | older | $9.99 | 217 88% | 6.5k | $65k (exactly $65,035) | HeR Interactive |
| | El Hijo - A Wild West Tale | older | $19.99 | 103 71% | 3.1k | $62k (exactly $61,769) | Honig Studios, Quantumfrog |
| | Diorama Builder | older | $4.99 | 391 94% | 12k | $59k (exactly $58,533) | Virtual Arts Studio |
 | Bonesaw | $6.66 | 179 89% | 5.4k | $36k (exactly $35,764) | Blood Pact Studios | |
 | ColdRidge | $9.99 | 97 73% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $29,071) | Frog Collective | |
 | Vendetta Forever | $19.99 | 34 76% | 1.0k | $20k (exactly $20,390) | Meatspace Interactive | |
 | Cold Iron - Quick Draw Western Duels | older | $13.99 | 39 76% | 1.2k | $16k (exactly $16,368) | Catch & Release, LLC |
 | DOOMED Detective Game | $6.99 | 65 46% | 2.0k | $14k (exactly $13,630) | Azikton Studio | |
 | Chess, Texas | $4.99 | 27 81% | 810 | $4.0k (exactly $4,042) | Studio Apollo | |
 | Golden Rails: The heart of the state | $6.99 | 15 93% | 450 | $3.1k (exactly $3,146) | Alawar Casual | |
 | Hogtie | $4.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) | Alacrity Games | |
 | Polar Star | $2.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $1.5k (exactly $1,525) | Violett | |
 | Spellsy | $5.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) | You're a Lemon Games | |
 | Mole or Not | · EA | $2.99 | 15 53% | 450 | $1.3k (exactly $1,346) | EY GAMES |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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