Should I ship a Romance PvP game?
PvP + Romance
Only 15 developers shipped a Romance PvP game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Le Mans Ultimate, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.3k, ×4.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $18M, ×12067 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 20 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $810 (exactly $810) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.3k (exactly $6,291) |
| Top 25% | $78k (exactly $78,055) |
| Top 5% | $18M (exactly $18,077,080) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 15 |
| Released games | 54 |
| Announced | 20 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 35%, 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
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 16,316 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $810. 3 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition 2017 · $244M 
Le Mans Ultimate 2025 · $18M 
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 2022 · $1.2M 
Youtubers Life 3 2026 · $281k 
Hand Simulator: Rendezvous 2022 · $148k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition | older | $44.99 | 180,782 95% | 5.4M | $244M (exactly $244,001,465) | Larian Studios |
| | Le Mans Ultimate | $39.99 | 15,068 79% | 452k | $18M (exactly $18,077,080) | Studio 397 | |
| | Sword and Fairy Inn 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,013 49% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,207,196) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT |
| | Youtubers Life 3 | $19.99 | 468 50% | 14k | $281k (exactly $280,660) | UPLAY Online | |
| | Hand Simulator: Rendezvous | older | $2.99 | 1,654 87% | 50k | $148k (exactly $148,364) | Alice Pie |
 | Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To | $19.99 | 239 94% | 7.2k | $143k (exactly $143,328) | Soft Not Weak, LLC | |
 | Astatos | · EA older | $14.99 | 298 82% | 8.9k | $134k (exactly $134,011) | Studio Klondike Australia |
 | Doomsday Paradise | older | $14.99 | 185 89% | 5.6k | $83k (exactly $83,194) | Lemonade Flashbang |
 | Fuckstone | $11.99 | 217 88% | 6.5k | $78k (exactly $78,055) | Anime Mania | |
 | Don't Cheat On Me | older | $7.99 | 253 46% | 7.6k | $61k (exactly $60,644) | A Normal Monkey Studios |
 | Sex With Friends | $4.99 | 236 94% | 7.1k | $35k (exactly $35,329) | B-Team | |
 | Yatzi 2 | $14.99 | 15 80% | 450 | $6.7k (exactly $6,746) | Korion Interactive | |
 | Heatwave | $10.00 | 21 95% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,300) | Monochromesoft | |
 | School Crisis | $6.99 | 30 93% | 900 | $6.3k (exactly $6,291) | Phumi Dev | |
 | Azmar Quest - Text Based RPG | $9.99 | 15 100% | 450 | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) | Sevan Soukiassian | |
 | Ludo XXL 2 | $14.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $3.1k (exactly $3,148) | Korion Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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