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Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Sandbox?
Sandbox + Quick-Time Events
Only 9 developers shipped a Quick-Time Events Sandbox 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, Ship, Inc., made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×4.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $640k, ×1035 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 19 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.1k (exactly $3,058) |
| Top 25% | $7.7k (exactly $7,740) |
| Top 5% | $650k (exactly $649,750) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 26 |
| Announced | 19 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Sandbox
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Quick-Time Events
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox, Quick-Time Events
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 2,563 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 19 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ship, Inc. | $9.99 | 2,168 83% | 65k | $650k (exactly $649,750) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
| | U.N.P.O.C. Vessel of Opportunity | $12.99 | 70 68% | 2.1k | $27k (exactly $27,279) | Danny Ziemer | |
| | Almost Castaways | $12.90 | 20 100% | 600 | $7.7k (exactly $7,740) | Pent Panda | |
| | Divine Adventure RPG | older | $14.99 | 17 76% | 510 | $7.6k (exactly $7,645) | Masquerade Games |
| | Crypto Trading Simulator | · EA | $6.99 | 33 75% | 990 | $6.9k (exactly $6,920) | SUMER |
| | Weapons Simulator | older | $2.99 | 36 88% | 1.1k | $3.2k (exactly $3,229) | Maloke Games, Marcelo Contador |
| | Rage Room: Catharsis | $16.99 | 6 33% | 180 | $3.1k (exactly $3,058) | Revino Games | |
| | Colors! Maze | older | $0.99 | 85 88% | 2.6k | $2.5k (exactly $2,524) | Vergiu |
| | Colors! | older | $0.99 | 82 80% | 2.5k | $2.4k (exactly $2,435) | Vergiu |
| | Colors! Maze 2 | older | $0.99 | 46 84% | 1.4k | $1.4k (exactly $1,366) | Vergiu |
| | Cozy Tide | $3.99 | 8 87% | 240 | $958 (exactly $958) | breadcrumbs | |
| | Square Fishing Builder | $4.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | codegamerstudio | |
| | The Cornerman | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | APLCN Studios | |
| | Cool Cool Water | $9.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Stone Coyote Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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