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Should I ship a Score Attack Swordplay game?
Swordplay + Score Attack
Only 17 developers shipped a Score Attack 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.. 19 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $90 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 7 developers shipped in the last year and 19 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $300 (exactly $300) |
| Top 25% | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) |
| Top 5% | $597k (exactly $596,501) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 50 |
| 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 up 115% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Swordplay
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Score Attack
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Swordplay, Score Attack; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hack and Slash, Combat
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Linear
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 817 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different second tag, 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
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny 2025 · $597k 
Fruit Ninja VR 2016 · $360k 
Shing! 2020 · $200k 
COGEN: Sword of Rewind / COGEN: 大鳥こはくと刻の剣 2022 · $84k 
NINJA GIRL 2021 · $22k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny | $29.99 | 663 85% | 20k | $597k (exactly $596,501) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Fruit Ninja VR | older | $14.99 | 801 80% | 24k | $360k (exactly $360,210) | Halfbrick Studios Pty Ltd |
| | Shing! | older | $19.99 | 334 79% | 10k | $200k (exactly $200,300) | Mass Creation |
| | COGEN: Sword of Rewind / COGEN: 大鳥こはくと刻の剣 | older | $24.99 | 112 67% | 3.4k | $84k (exactly $83,966) | Gemdrops, Inc. |
| | NINJA GIRL | older | $13.99 | 53 73% | 1.6k | $22k (exactly $22,244) | Cream Meron |
 | HAYAI | older | $1.99 | 236 98% | 7.1k | $14k (exactly $14,089) | Chaoclypse |
 | Disco Samurai | $9.99 | 45 88% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $13,486) | Pixel Fiber Games | |
 | Velocity Noodle | older | $12.99 | 28 89% | 840 | $11k (exactly $10,912) | Shotgun Anaconda |
 | EvoWars: New Era | $8.99 | 25 72% | 750 | $6.7k (exactly $6,742) | Night Steed Games | |
 | JUST ONE MAN | · EA | $10.99 | 20 90% | 600 | $6.6k (exactly $6,594) | Raikiri |
 | Smerch Battle Arena | · EA | $9.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) | Smerch Games |
 | KatanaHime | $0.99 | 45 95% | 1.4k | $1.3k (exactly $1,336) | Heuristic Forge | |
 | Dalafri | $4.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $449 (exactly $449) | Y.Kageyama | |
 | HaeTae: Guardians | · EA | $5.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $359 (exactly $359) | JipangYiGames.Corp |
 | Odania Sports Arena | $9.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $300 (exactly $300) | Odania GmbH | |
 | Bamboo Bushido | $2.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $90 (exactly $90) | Waffle Hound Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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