Do I ship it?

GamesVisual NovelVisual Novel + Vampires

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Vampire Visual Novel?

Visual Novel + Vampires

Of 64 developers who shipped a Vampire 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.. 74 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×362 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 74 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 74 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Visual Novel + Vampires
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 64
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $31k → $38k → $5.0k → $2.5k → $419 (still earning) → $3.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Visual Novel + Vampires: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 64
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $33,124)
Top 5% $227k (exactly $227,472)
Developers, 2 yr 64
Released games 154
Announced 74
Effort 5 / 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 down 35% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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
Vampires
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Visual Novel; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Choices Matter, Choose Your Own Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 10,486 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Visual Novel with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds166 devs · median $54k · 146 announced
  2. + City BuilderStrong odds10 devs · median $19k · 8 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds27 devs · median $18k · 24 announced
  4. + TrainsStrong odds12 devs · median $8.0k · 5 announced
  5. + Souls-likeFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair20 devs · median $22k · 19 announced
  7. + RhythmFair38 devs · median $18k · 52 announced
  8. + JRPGFair219 devs · median $13k · 265 announced
  9. + Immersive SimFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  10. + SwordplayFair13 devs · median $5.7k · 10 announced
  11. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $5.7k · 12 announced
  12. + DiplomacyFair16 devs · median $5.4k · 19 announced

All 188 pairs on the Visual Novel page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MELTY BLOOD: TYPE LUMINA older $49.99 9,130 88% 274k $14M (exactly $13,692,261) FRENCH-BREAD, TYPE-MOON, Lasengle Inc.,… (FRENCH-BREAD, TYPE-MOON, Lasengle Inc., TAMSOFT CORPORATION, GameLoop Inc.)
Monster Prom older $11.99 12,245 93% 367k $4.4M (exactly $4,404,526) Beautiful Glitch
Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code older $24.99 3,819 93% 115k $2.9M (exactly $2,863,104) FRENCH-BREAD
AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead & Undressed older $19.99 3,076 84% 92k $1.8M (exactly $1,844,677) ACQUIRE Corp.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York older $19.99 2,279 74% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,366,716) Draw Distance
Nunholy $7.99 5,150 88% 155k $1.2M (exactly $1,234,455) Chowbie
Cabernet $19.99 2,025 94% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,214,392) Party for Introverts
DRACU-RIOT! $34.99 722 98% 22k $758k (exactly $757,883) YUZUSOFT
Vampires' Melody older $3.99 5,559 97% 167k $665k (exactly $665,412) AsicxArt
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds older $9.99 1,952 92% 59k $585k (exactly $585,014) Idea Factory, Design Factory
Sex & Blood: Vampires $9.99 759 71% 23k $227k (exactly $227,472) Taboo Tales 💘
Menherarium: Deadly Dice $8.99 669 92% 20k $180k (exactly $180,429) テスカトリポカ
The Seven Realms: High Lathión $12.99 427 80% 13k $166k (exactly $166,402) SeptCloud Games
Near-Mage $19.99 180 89% 5.4k $108k (exactly $107,946) Stuck In Attic
Cage of Roses $12.99 190 88% 5.7k $74k (exactly $74,043) ebi-hime
The World Well: Blood of Caro $11.99 205 85% 6.2k $74k (exactly $73,738) Nimparth
Futa Nights: Bloody Sluts 💋 $14.99 159 74% 4.8k $72k (exactly $71,502) Dirty Adventures 🖤

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.