Games › Visual Novel › Visual Novel + Steampunk
Should I ship a Steampunk Visual Novel?
Visual Novel + Steampunk
Of 21 developers who shipped a Steampunk Visual Novel 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.. 33 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×4.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $630k, ×1005 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 33 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $538 (exactly $538) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.0k (exactly $2,994) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $18,887) |
| Top 5% | $631k (exactly $631,042) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 59 |
| Announced | 33 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 170% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Visual Novel
- effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
- Steampunk
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Visual Novel; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Interactive Fiction, Point & Click
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 1,585 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Visual Novel with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + City BuilderStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + TrainsStrong odds
- + Souls-likeFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + JRPGFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DiplomacyFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles | older | $39.99 | 5,113 93% | 153k | $6.1M (exactly $6,134,066) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Detective Girl of the Steam City | older | $14.99 | 1,894 91% | 57k | $852k (exactly $851,732) | Clymenia |
| | Syberia - Remastered | $29.99 | 724 70% | 22k | $651k (exactly $651,383) | Virtuallyz Gaming, Microids Studio Paris | |
| | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
| | 80 Days | older | $12.99 | 1,174 91% | 35k | $458k (exactly $457,508) | inkle Ltd, Cape Guy Ltd |
| | Steam Prison | older | $34.99 | 388 81% | 12k | $407k (exactly $407,284) | HuneX |
| | Sovereign Syndicate | older | $19.99 | 573 79% | 17k | $344k (exactly $343,628) | Crimson Herring Studios |
| | Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink | older | $14.99 | 637 90% | 19k | $286k (exactly $286,459) | Artifex Mundi |
| | Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning Steam Edition | older | $39.99 | 80 86% | 2.4k | $96k (exactly $95,976) | Liar-soft |
| | Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade | older | $4.99 | 526 78% | 16k | $79k (exactly $78,742) | Lostwood |
| | Lust Manor: Leona’s Secret | $9.99 | 89 78% | 2.7k | $27k (exactly $26,673) | Kinky Business Group | |
| | Steam Prison -Beyond the Steam- | $34.99 | 22 50% | 660 | $23k (exactly $23,093) | HuneX | |
| | Lust Poker Club | $7.99 | 89 78% | 2.7k | $21k (exactly $21,333) | Cutie Booty | |
| | Scarlet Defiance: The Wall Between Us | $14.99 | 42 76% | 1.3k | $19k (exactly $18,887) | Vmmersion Studios | |
| | MAELSTROM LEGACY: The Tesla Mystery | $10.99 | 36 69% | 1.1k | $12k (exactly $11,869) | Wistfulware | |
| | VOID SOUL | $25.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $5.5k (exactly $5,458) | OWLOGUE Co., Ltd. | |
| | Biohazardous Love ☣️ | $5.99 | 25 88% | 750 | $4.5k (exactly $4,492) | TheBigO Games | |
| | BROKEN God Awakening | $4.99 | 25 76% | 750 | $3.7k (exactly $3,742) | lamb of game |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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