Games › Swordplay › Swordplay + Romance
Should I ship a Romance Swordplay game?
Swordplay + Romance
Only 13 developers shipped a Romance Swordplay 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, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×9.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $590k, ×950 the market median. Revenue is up 105% on the market; 15 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.7k (exactly $5,664) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $18,793) |
| Top 5% | $597k (exactly $596,501) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 34 |
| Announced | 15 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 105% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Swordplay
- Price point
- $8.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 1,065 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Shoot 'Em UpLong shot
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + FightingPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
Way of the Samurai 4 2015 · $1.5M 
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny 2025 · $597k 
Way of the Samurai 3 2016 · $522k 
BoneTown: The Second Coming Edition 2021 · $462k 
Ken ga Kimi: Momoyo Tsuzuri 2020 · $286k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Way of the Samurai 4 | older | $24.99 | 1,939 76% | 58k | $1.5M (exactly $1,453,668) | ACQUIRE Corp. |
| | Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny | $29.99 | 663 85% | 20k | $597k (exactly $596,501) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Way of the Samurai 3 | older | $19.99 | 871 73% | 26k | $522k (exactly $522,339) | ACQUIRE Corp. |
| | BoneTown: The Second Coming Edition | older | $19.99 | 770 84% | 23k | $462k (exactly $461,769) | D-Dub Software |
| | Ken ga Kimi: Momoyo Tsuzuri | older | $49.99 | 191 86% | 5.7k | $286k (exactly $286,443) | Rejet |
 | NinNinDays2 | older | $14.99 | 159 91% | 4.8k | $72k (exactly $71,502) | iMel, qureate |
 | DragonStone Revenge | $14.99 | 146 60% | 4.4k | $66k (exactly $65,656) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | Elf Breeding Farm | older | $11.99 | 174 67% | 5.2k | $63k (exactly $62,588) | Miel |
 | Sea Dogs | older | $11.99 | 162 75% | 4.9k | $58k (exactly $58,271) | Akella |
 | Ne no Kami: The Two Princess Knights of Kyoto | older | $9.99 | 175 88% | 5.3k | $52k (exactly $52,448) | Kuro Irodoru Yomiji |
 | Shadowhand Solitaire | $13.99 | 64 90% | 1.9k | $27k (exactly $26,861) | Grey Alien Games | |
 | Ladies, Don’t Tempt My Immortality | $10.99 | 57 89% | 1.7k | $19k (exactly $18,793) | 蒸汽满满工作室 | |
 | Spellbound Beauties | $6.99 | 72 83% | 2.2k | $15k (exactly $15,098) | Lunar Kiss Games | |
 | Journey of the Garden Rose | $11.99 | 18 77% | 540 | $6.5k (exactly $6,475) | Renegade Sector Games | |
 | Trap for the Heir | $8.99 | 21 90% | 630 | $5.7k (exactly $5,664) | MariLuzaria | |
 | Games of the Monarch's Eye | $5.99 | 8 25% | 240 | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) | Choice of Games | |
 | Cyrano | $2.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $1.3k (exactly $1,256) | Popcannibal | |
 | Frog & Blade | $8.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $539 (exactly $539) | StarGazer |
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.