Games › Visual Novel › Visual Novel + Supernatural
Should I ship a Supernatural Visual Novel?
Visual Novel + Supernatural
Of 189 developers who shipped a Supernatural 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.. 284 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×699 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 284 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $716 (exactly $716) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,728) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,323) |
| Top 5% | $332k (exactly $332,234) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 189 |
| Released games | 497 |
| Announced | 284 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Supernatural
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Visual Novel; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Multiple Endings, Interactive Fiction
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 22,675 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 8 in 10 of the 111 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 284 games are announced against 108 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Firework | older | $9.99 | 41,172 97% | 1.2M | $12M (exactly $12,339,248) | Shiying Studio |
| | Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective | older | $29.99 | 6,429 97% | 193k | $5.8M (exactly $5,784,171) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Scarlet Hollow | · EA older | $29.99 | 4,833 97% | 145k | $4.3M (exactly $4,348,250) | Black Tabby Games |
| | PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo | older | $19.99 | 6,123 95% | 184k | $3.7M (exactly $3,671,963) | Square Enix |
| | Urban Myth Dissolution Center | $17.99 | 5,930 88% | 178k | $3.2M (exactly $3,200,421) | Hakababunko | |
| | Tails Noir | older | $24.99 | 2,592 66% | 78k | $1.9M (exactly $1,943,222) | Eggnut |
| | Gal*Gun 2 | older | $29.99 | 2,094 83% | 63k | $1.9M (exactly $1,883,972) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. |
| | The Mermaid Mask | $19.99 | 2,776 99% | 83k | $1.7M (exactly $1,664,767) | SFB Games | |
| | PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse | $24.99 | 2,169 95% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,626,099) | Square Enix | |
| | Love Curse: Find Your Soulmate | $14.00 | 3,275 95% | 98k | $1.4M (exactly $1,375,500) | Xso | |
| | The Dark Queen of Mortholme | $4.99 | 4,075 83% | 122k | $610k (exactly $610,028) | Mosu | |
| | Schrödinger's Call | $17.99 | 1,124 94% | 34k | $607k (exactly $606,623) | Acrobatic Chirimenjako | |
| | Shattered Minds | · EA | $12.99 | 1,507 91% | 45k | $587k (exactly $587,278) | eXtasy Games |
| | Foolish Mortals | $19.99 | 663 94% | 20k | $398k (exactly $397,601) | Inklingwood Studios | |
| | 消失的航班,还有她她她!Lost in the secret! | $19.99 | 602 89% | 18k | $361k (exactly $361,019) | Humongous Pictures | |
| | The Posthumous Investigation | $19.99 | 554 94% | 17k | $332k (exactly $332,234) | Mother Gaia Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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