Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Action-Adventure

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure

Of 5,114 developers who shipped an Action-Adventure 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.. 10,516 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $840, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×702 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 10,516 games are announced against 2,831 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 10,516 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 5,114
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $1.4k → $1.2k → $1.2k → $1.1k → $899 → $659 (still earning) → $420 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 5,114
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $839 (exactly $839)
Top 25% $7.9k (exactly $7,934)
Top 5% $441k (exactly $440,779)
Developers, 2 yr 5,114
Released games 15,775
Announced 10,516
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 15% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action-Adventure
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
Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 776,856 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $840, 1 in 4 over $7.9k, 1 in 20 over $440k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 3,097 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 10,516 games are announced against 2,831 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Action-Adventure

173 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Action-Adventure + Life Sim Poor odds $1.4k 107 devs
  2. Automobile Sim + Action-Adventure Poor odds $1.4k 44 devs
  3. Action-Adventure + 6DOF Poor odds $1.4k 42 devs
  4. Action-Adventure + Multiple Endings Poor odds $1.4k 490 devs
  5. Action-Adventure + Procedural Generation Poor odds $1.4k 263 devs
  6. Action-Adventure + Exploration Poor odds $1.4k 2,301 devs
  7. Open World + Action-Adventure Poor odds $1.3k 709 devs
  8. Action-Adventure + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $1.3k 62 devs
  9. Action-Adventure + Trading Poor odds $1.3k 21 devs
  10. Action RPG + Action-Adventure Poor odds $1.3k 928 devs
  11. Action-Adventure + Resource Management Poor odds $1.3k 176 devs
  12. Action-Adventure + Simulation Poor odds $1.2k 702 devs
  13. Action-Adventure + Sniper Poor odds $1.2k 15 devs
  14. Action-Adventure + Stealth Poor odds $1.2k 458 devs
  15. Class-Based + Action-Adventure Poor odds $1.2k 56 devs
  16. Action-Adventure + Time Management Poor odds $1.2k 117 devs
  17. Action-Adventure + Roguelike Poor odds $1.1k 362 devs
  18. Third-Person Shooter + Action-Adventure Poor odds $1.1k 319 devs
  19. Action-Adventure + Agriculture Poor odds $1.1k 23 devs
  20. Grand Strategy + Action-Adventure Poor odds $1.1k 22 devs
  21. Action-Adventure + RPG Poor odds $1.1k 1,182 devs
  22. Action-Adventure + Gun Customization Poor odds $1.1k 63 devs
  23. Action-Adventure + On-Rails Shooter Poor odds $989 19 devs
  24. Action-Adventure + Auto Battler Poor odds $987 22 devs
  25. FPS + Action-Adventure Poor odds $980 632 devs
  26. RTS + Action-Adventure Poor odds $980 38 devs
  27. Action-Adventure + Roguelite Poor odds $959 359 devs
  28. Action-Adventure + Adventure Poor odds $899 3,948 devs
  29. Action-Adventure + Puzzle Poor odds $899 863 devs
  30. Action-Adventure + Investigation Poor odds $899 229 devs
  31. Action-Adventure + Time Manipulation Poor odds $899 47 devs
  32. Offroad + Action-Adventure Poor odds $899 22 devs
  33. Action-Adventure + Action Poor odds $898 3,921 devs
  34. Action-Adventure + Choices Matter Poor odds $898 385 devs
  35. Action-Adventure + Vehicular Combat Poor odds $898 60 devs
  36. Action-Adventure + Idler Poor odds $898 49 devs
  37. Action-Adventure + Platformer Poor odds $897 947 devs
  38. Action-Adventure + Walking Simulator Poor odds $891 321 devs
  39. Action-Adventure + Choose Your Own Adventure Poor odds $891 249 devs
  40. Action-Adventure + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $839 391 devs
  41. Action-Adventure + Party-Based RPG Poor odds $839 63 devs
  42. Action-Adventure + Tower Defense Poor odds $839 58 devs
  43. Action-Adventure + Board Game Poor odds $839 11 devs
  44. Action-Adventure + Survival Poor odds $838 745 devs
  45. Action-Adventure + Shooter Poor odds $836 782 devs
  46. Action-Adventure + Combat Poor odds $809 1,300 devs
  47. Action-Adventure + Physics Poor odds $750 542 devs
  48. Action-Adventure + Dungeon Crawler Poor odds $750 461 devs
  49. Action-Adventure + City Builder Poor odds $750 28 devs
  50. Action-Adventure + Beat 'em up Poor odds $748 191 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Black Myth: Wukong 2024 · $1.6B Hogwarts Legacy 2023 · $495M Far Cry® 5 2018 · $311M Assassin's Creed® Odyssey 2018 · $310M Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 2024 · $303M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Black Myth: Wukong older $59.99 881,186 96% 26M $1.6B (exactly $1,585,870,444) Game Science
Hogwarts Legacy older $59.99 274,801 89% 8.2M $495M (exactly $494,559,360) Avalanche Software
Far Cry® 5 older $59.99 172,897 81% 5.2M $311M (exactly $311,162,731) Ubisoft Montreal, Red Storm, Ubisoft Sh… (Ubisoft Montreal, Red Storm, Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft Kiev)
Assassin's Creed® Odyssey older $59.99 172,149 89% 5.2M $310M (exactly $309,816,555) Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubiso… (Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Kiev, Ubisoft Shanghai)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 older $59.99 168,628 84% 5.1M $303M (exactly $303,479,812) Saber Interactive
Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition older $59.99 164,914 79% 4.9M $297M (exactly $296,795,726) Techland
It Takes Two older $39.99 218,492 95% 6.6M $262M (exactly $262,124,852) Hazelight Studios
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II $59.99 144,558 93% 4.3M $260M (exactly $260,161,033) Warhorse Studios
Sons Of The Forest older $29.99 284,572 88% 8.5M $256M (exactly $256,029,428) Endnight Games Ltd
Crimson Desert Enhanced $69.99 115,056 83% 3.5M $242M (exactly $241,583,083) Pearl Abyss
Resident Evil Requiem $69.99 106,931 95% 3.2M $225M (exactly $224,523,021) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Borderlands 4 $69.99 57,874 59% 1.7M $122M (exactly $121,518,038) Gearbox Software
Split Fiction $49.99 78,378 97% 2.4M $118M (exactly $117,543,487) Hazelight Studios
Stellar Blade™ $59.99 61,289 93% 1.8M $110M (exactly $110,301,813) SHIFT UP Corporation
Dying Light: The Beast $59.99 59,318 87% 1.8M $107M (exactly $106,754,605) Techland
SILENT HILL 2 $69.99 43,367 94% 1.3M $91M (exactly $91,057,690) Bloober Team SA
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered $49.99 59,690 76% 1.8M $90M (exactly $89,517,093) Bethesda Game Studios, Virtuos
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO $49.99 50,395 86% 1.5M $76M (exactly $75,577,382) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.

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