Do I ship it?

GamesQuick-Time EventsQuick-Time Events + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Quick-Time Events game?

Quick-Time Events + Sci-fi

Of 33 developers who shipped a Sci-fi Quick-Time Events 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.. 55 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 21 developers shipped in the last year and 55 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 55 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Quick-Time Events + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $148 → $718 → $719 → $358 → $1.8k → $418 (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Quick-Time Events + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $1.7k (exactly $1,672)
Top 5% $39k (exactly $39,398)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 105
Announced 55
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.70

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 80% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Quick-Time Events
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Quick-Time Events; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Puzzle
Price point
$4.70 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $4.70.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 1,862 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $480, 1 in 4 over $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $39k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Quick-Time Events with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  2. + Shoot 'Em UpFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  3. + Life SimFair28 devs · median $958 · 33 announced
  4. + SimulationFair116 devs · median $748 · 133 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $720 · 18 announced
  6. + Resource ManagementFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $657 · 9 announced
  8. + AliensFair12 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  9. + SpaceFair16 devs · median $597 · 24 announced
  10. + Bullet TimeLong shot10 devs · median $390 · 15 announced
  11. + DemonsLong shot17 devs · median $300 · 22 announced
  12. + Bullet HellLong shot27 devs · median $239 · 25 announced

All 110 pairs on the Quick-Time Events page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Call of Duty®: Black Ops III older $59.99 157,694 88% 4.7M $284M (exactly $283,801,892) Treyarch, Aspyr (Mac)
Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare older $59.99 17,489 65% 525k $31M (exactly $31,474,953) Infinity Ward
Beyond: Two Souls older $19.99 37,154 87% 1.1M $22M (exactly $22,281,254) Quantic Dream
Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare - Gold Edition older $39.99 11,103 64% 333k $13M (exactly $13,320,269) Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software
Tales from the Borderlands older $19.99 15,101 93% 453k $9.1M (exactly $9,056,070) Telltale Games
STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition older $19.99 8,732 77% 262k $5.2M (exactly $5,236,580) LucasArts
The Inn-Sanity $7.99 1,561 96% 47k $374k (exactly $374,172) Steppe Hare Studio
A.D. 2047 older $19.99 79 62% 2.4k $47k (exactly $47,376) Leenzee Games
Neon Blood $17.99 73 60% 2.2k $39k (exactly $39,398) ChaoticBrain Studios
Sex Knight~Prey of the Lustful Nobles~ $10.99 82 82% 2.5k $27k (exactly $27,035) アイオライト
MILF Sex Prison: Sector X $7.99 62 75% 1.9k $15k (exactly $14,861) Kinky Business Group
Mimetic - Prop hunt hide and seek $4.70 25 80% 750 $3.5k (exactly $3,525) ClockNotionStudio
Rage Room: Catharsis $16.99 6 33% 180 $3.1k (exactly $3,058) Revino Games
Keep It Contained · EA $5.99 11 100% 330 $2.0k (exactly $1,977) Triarch Interactive
CRYPTOBIOSIS $9.99 6 50% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) 陈高远狠活工作室
5 Minutes Until Self-Destruction $1.99 28 96% 840 $1.7k (exactly $1,672) Part Time Monkey
Thunder Infinity $4.99 8 75% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Enrique G. Galvez

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.