Do I ship it?

GamesVisual NovelVisual Novel + War

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a War Visual Novel?

Visual Novel + War

Of 38 developers who shipped a War 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.. 59 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.8k, ×4.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $1.5M, ×2448 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 59 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 59 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Visual Novel + War
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $22k → $3.6k → $719 → $1.3k → $3.9k → $15k (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Visual Novel + War: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $2.8k (exactly $2,844)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,285)
Top 5% $1.5M (exactly $1,537,631)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 143
Announced 59
Effort 6 / 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 35% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
War
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Visual Novel; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Interactive Fiction, Multiple Endings
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 16,187 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $2.8k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $1.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

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
Muv-Luv Alternative older $39.99 3,447 95% 103k $4.1M (exactly $4,135,366) aNCHOR Inc.
The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall $11.99 8,227 58% 247k $3.0M (exactly $2,959,252) 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame)
Baldr Sky older $49.99 1,524 93% 46k $2.3M (exactly $2,285,543) Sekai Project
The Three Kingdoms: Rebirth $19.99 2,564 91% 77k $1.5M (exactly $1,537,631) 玛奇阿朵互娱科技, 山与海工作室
Wars and Roses older $19.99 2,435 42% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,460,270) Blaze Worlds
Shao Song I $14.99 2,671 81% 80k $1.2M (exactly $1,201,149) 互动之星, 猫眼娱乐
Conquer the world $12.99 1,996 92% 60k $778k (exactly $777,841) 互动之星
Flowers -Le volume sur ete- older $19.99 1,205 99% 36k $723k (exactly $722,638) Innocent Grey
Ravager · EA older $19.99 909 93% 27k $545k (exactly $545,127) 4MinuteWarning
VenusBlood HOLLOW International older $44.99 287 96% 8.6k $387k (exactly $387,364) Ninetail, Dualtail
Lavender Quartz 境界秤動 $11.99 300 95% 9.0k $108k (exactly $107,910) Edanoue, Inc.
A Foreign World $19.99 167 84% 5.0k $100k (exactly $100,150) HighbornTiger
Sunrider Legends Tactics $29.99 40 80% 1.2k $36k (exactly $35,988) Love in Space
Ashes of War $9.99 77 96% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,077) CAT'S TOOTH STUDIO
Hello Girl $6.99 94 97% 2.8k $20k (exactly $19,712) Imo Team
Cycle of Struggle: Ardengrad · EA $9.99 51 98% 1.5k $15k (exactly $15,285) Visionary Impact

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