Should I ship a Western PvP game?
PvP + Western
Of 27 developers who shipped a Western PvP 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.. 49 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60. 49 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper, while revenue is down 80% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $60 (exactly $60) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $18,609) |
| Top 5% | $451k (exactly $451,087) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 27 |
| Released games | 70 |
| Announced | 49 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 80% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 24%, 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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Third Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 2,457 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
Hunt: Showdown 1896 2019 · $192M 
Red Dead Online 2020 · $36M 
Heat 2020 · $1.6M 
Last Train Outta' Wormtown 2025 · $523k 
West Hunt 2023 · $456k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hunt: Showdown 1896 | older | $29.99 | 213,023 74% | 6.4M | $192M (exactly $191,656,793) | Crytek |
| | Red Dead Online | older | $19.99 | 59,572 82% | 1.8M | $36M (exactly $35,725,328) | Rockstar Games |
| | Heat | older | $19.99 | 2,612 49% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,566,416) | Code}{atch |
| | Last Train Outta' Wormtown | $11.99 | 1,453 96% | 44k | $523k (exactly $522,644) | Get(Color) Games | |
| | West Hunt | older | $9.99 | 1,522 84% | 46k | $456k (exactly $456,143) | NewGen |
 | Railroad Corporation 2 | $39.99 | 376 69% | 11k | $451k (exactly $451,087) | Corbie Games | |
 | Secret Ponchos | older | $14.99 | 613 73% | 18k | $276k (exactly $275,666) | Switchblade Monkeys Entertainment |
 | Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West | older | $9.99 | 907 70% | 27k | $272k (exactly $271,828) | Fatshark |
 | Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster | $29.99 | 230 93% | 6.9k | $207k (exactly $206,931) | LucasArts, Nightdive Studios | |
 | Sky Noon | older | $14.99 | 436 85% | 13k | $196k (exactly $196,069) | Lunar Rooster |
 | Frontier Legends | · EA | $29.99 | 57 40% | 1.7k | $51k (exactly $51,283) | Neojac Entertainment Inc. |
 | Bonesaw | $6.66 | 179 89% | 5.4k | $36k (exactly $35,764) | Blood Pact Studios | |
 | GRIT | $19.99 | 34 35% | 1.0k | $20k (exactly $20,390) | Team GRIT | |
 | Wild West : The Last Cowboy | $8.99 | 69 100% | 2.1k | $19k (exactly $18,609) | DMONG Co., Ltd. | |
 | Chess, Texas | $4.99 | 27 81% | 810 | $4.0k (exactly $4,042) | Studio Apollo | |
 | Roulette Heist | $6.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $3.8k (exactly $3,775) | DreamArk Lab | |
 | Seven Sinners | $7.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $3.4k (exactly $3,356) | BillysBones, Grable Team |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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