Should I ship a PvP Word Game?
PvP + Word Game
Of 38 developers who shipped a PvP Word 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.. 43 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build. 33 developers shipped in the last year and 43 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $180 (exactly $180) |
| Top 25% | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) |
| Top 5% | $95k (exactly $95,305) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 101 |
| Announced | 43 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 560% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, 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, Word Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Board Game, Immersive Sim
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Family Friendly, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 3,644 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, 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
DEATH NOTE Killer Within 2024 · $697k 
The Jackbox Party Pack 9 2022 · $544k 
The Jackbox Survey Scramble 2024 · $95k 
RiffTrax: The Game 2022 · $66k 
AI: Art Impostor 2022 · EA · $65k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DEATH NOTE Killer Within | $9.99 | 2,324 84% | 70k | $697k (exactly $696,503) | Grounding Inc. | |
| | The Jackbox Party Pack 9 | older | $29.99 | 605 84% | 18k | $544k (exactly $544,318) | Jackbox Games, Inc. |
| | The Jackbox Survey Scramble | $9.99 | 318 90% | 9.5k | $95k (exactly $95,305) | Jackbox Games, Inc | |
| | RiffTrax: The Game | older | $9.99 | 219 91% | 6.6k | $66k (exactly $65,634) | Wide Right Interactive, Mark Zorn, Kurt… (Wide Right Interactive, Mark Zorn, Kurt Wojda) |
| | AI: Art Impostor | · EA older | $4.99 | 432 65% | 13k | $65k (exactly $64,670) | Pocketpair |
 | 这是谐音梗 | $2.40 | 567 94% | 17k | $41k (exactly $40,824) | Find the Lamp Games | |
 | Drawing From Memory | older | $2.99 | 215 90% | 6.5k | $19k (exactly $19,286) | Lekker spelen, Kud |
 | おしゃべりキング！コミュ力診断ゲーム | $8.99 | 69 97% | 2.1k | $19k (exactly $18,609) | Hyper Index, Inc. | |
 | Eternal Sword Tomb | · EA | $8.99 | 68 77% | 2.0k | $18k (exactly $18,340) | 阿郎 |
 | Happy Words | older | $4.99 | 121 46% | 3.6k | $18k (exactly $18,114) | LAN - GAMES LTD |
 | Lateral Thinking Together | · EA | $5.99 | 85 43% | 2.6k | $15k (exactly $15,274) | PushForward |
 | Code Velocity | $2.99 | 99 100% | 3.0k | $8.9k (exactly $8,880) | STIM GAMES | |
 | Yesterday's News | $11.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $6.5k (exactly $6,475) | Rooibos Games | |
 | Idiom Royale | $1.99 | 91 63% | 2.7k | $5.4k (exactly $5,433) | NyxWorks | |
 | Play Together: Party Games | $14.99 | 5 60% | 150 | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) | Plot Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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