Games › Racing › Racing + Visual Novel
Should I ship a Visual Novel Racing game?
Racing + Visual Novel
Only 13 developers shipped a Visual Novel Racing 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, Denshattack!, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $21k, ×34 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $4.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×2779 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 22 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) |
|---|---|
| Median | $21k (exactly $21,420) |
| Top 25% | $30k (exactly $29,680) |
| Top 5% | $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 46 |
| Announced | 22 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $13.99 |
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 up 55% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Racing
- effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling, track content and opponent AI
- Visual Novel
- effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Racing, Visual Novel; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Arcade
- Price point
- $13.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Story Rich, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $13.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 4,716 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $4.1k. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Racing with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + ModernFair
- + TransportationFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Time ManipulationFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + City BuilderLong shot
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Denshattack! | $19.99 | 2,910 98% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) | Undercoders | |
| | Race of Life - Act 1 | $13.99 | 1,183 94% | 35k | $497k (exactly $496,505) | Underground Studio | |
| | Heading Out | older | $19.99 | 639 74% | 19k | $383k (exactly $383,208) | Serious Sim, Crunching Koalas |
| | Tokyo School Life | older | $14.99 | 619 92% | 19k | $278k (exactly $278,364) | M2 Co.,LTD |
| | Garfield Kart 2 - All You Can Drift | $24.99 | 216 45% | 6.5k | $162k (exactly $161,935) | Eden Games | |
| | LUNARiA -Virtualized Moonchild- | older | $19.99 | 168 94% | 5.0k | $101k (exactly $100,750) | VISUAL ARTS/Key |
| | Conquer and Breed the Demon Queen | older | $11.99 | 118 61% | 3.5k | $42k (exactly $42,445) | Miel |
| | My 1/6 Lover | older | $1.99 | 551 80% | 17k | $33k (exactly $32,895) | lamb of game |
| | Agent Horny - Season 1 | $14.99 | 66 75% | 2.0k | $30k (exactly $29,680) | Mr.CreepGames | |
| | Hot & Lewd: Miami | older | $9.99 | 98 84% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $29,371) | Lust Desires 🖤 |
| | Time Heals | $10.99 | 78 74% | 2.3k | $26k (exactly $25,717) | Owl`s | |
| | CuckTales 🐓 | $9.99 | 84 67% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $25,175) | Late Night Studios | |
| | Drift On Destiny Line | · EA | $14.00 | 51 82% | 1.5k | $21k (exactly $21,420) | Attractive Studios |
| | Lust for Speed | · EA | $6.99 | 62 85% | 1.9k | $13k (exactly $13,001) | KG/AM |
| | The Lewd Deal (Full Version) | $5.99 | 50 56% | 1.5k | $9.0k (exactly $8,985) | Mr.CreepGames | |
| | Designated Driver Simulator | · EA | $17.99 | 16 62% | 480 | $8.6k (exactly $8,635) | PostSIM |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.