Should I ship a PvE Solitaire game?
PvE + Solitaire
Of 25 developers who shipped a PvE Solitaire 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.. 28 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $150 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 13 developers shipped in the last year and 28 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $120 (exactly $120) |
| Top 25% | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 5% | $247k (exactly $246,885) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 101 |
| Announced | 28 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 up 2050% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE, Solitaire; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Card Battler
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Family Friendly, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 2,174 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | One Turn Kill | $7.99 | 1,478 95% | 44k | $354k (exactly $354,277) | DenDen | |
| | Zoominoes | $14.99 | 549 91% | 16k | $247k (exactly $246,885) | Starlight Games inc. | |
| | Picross Fairytale - nonogram: Red Riding Hood secret | older | $14.99 | 235 73% | 7.1k | $106k (exactly $105,680) | Somer Games |
| | Mahjong World Contest (麻将) | older | $14.99 | 193 88% | 5.8k | $87k (exactly $86,792) | Creobit |
| | Mahjong Magic Journey | older | $14.99 | 136 80% | 4.1k | $61k (exactly $61,159) | Creobit |
| | Mosaics Galore | older | $14.99 | 111 75% | 3.3k | $50k (exactly $49,917) | Creobit |
| | Solitaire Christmas. Match 2 Cards | older | $14.99 | 88 72% | 2.6k | $40k (exactly $39,574) | Creobit |
| | Solitaire Beach Season | older | $14.99 | 88 76% | 2.6k | $40k (exactly $39,574) | Creobit |
| | 災難公關+ | $7.99 | 112 90% | 3.4k | $27k (exactly $26,846) | TamaniDamani | |
| | Picross Fairytale: Legend of the Mermaid | older | $14.99 | 48 52% | 1.4k | $22k (exactly $21,586) | Somer Games |
| | PROMulti-TableTournament | $18.99 | 11 63% | 330 | $6.3k (exactly $6,267) | GONGXIN | |
| | Royal's Gambit | $14.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $2.7k (exactly $2,698) | 96 Games Studio | |
| | Luxuriant | $14.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $899 (exactly $899) | Goblin Runt | |
| | OrbHand | $2.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $718 (exactly $718) | Jesus Rugarcia | |
| | Rotminers: Escape or Die | $2.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $359 (exactly $359) | X1 Studio | |
| | Brazzante | $2.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $269 (exactly $269) | All Place | |
| | 研究生战斗 | $5.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $180 (exactly $180) | lhll |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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