Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › FMV

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an FMV?

FMV

Of 303 developers who shipped an FMV 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.. 326 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $16k, ×35 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.8k. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 326 games are announced against 176 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 34.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 326 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
FMV
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 303
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $16k → $4.7k → $21k → $34k → $16k → $72k → $14k (still earning) → $7.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for FMV: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 303
Bottom 30% $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Median $16k (exactly $16,484)
Top 25% $113k (exactly $113,087)
Top 5% $760k (exactly $760,339)
Developers, 2 yr 303
Released games 957
Announced 326
Effort 4 / 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 25% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

FMV
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
FMV
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.58 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.58 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 97,444 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.8k, median $16k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $760k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 5 in 10 of the 176 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 326 games are announced against 176 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with FMV

64 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Survival + FMV Strong odds $74k 14 devs
  2. FMV + Post-apocalyptic Strong odds $74k 8 devs
  3. Strategy + FMV Strong odds $65k 50 devs
  4. FMV + Multiple Endings Strong odds $65k 128 devs
  5. Immersive Sim + FMV Strong odds $63k 112 devs
  6. Choices Matter + FMV Strong odds $58k 108 devs
  7. FMV + Dating Sim Strong odds $57k 148 devs
  8. FMV + Romance Strong odds $56k 101 devs
  9. Simulation + FMV Strong odds $55k 150 devs
  10. JRPG + FMV Strong odds $54k 12 devs
  11. RPG + FMV Strong odds $54k 169 devs
  12. FMV + Visual Novel Strong odds $54k 166 devs
  13. FMV + Life Sim Strong odds $54k 38 devs
  14. FMV + Idler Strong odds $36k 10 devs
  15. FMV + Incremental Strong odds $11k 15 devs
  16. FMV + Walking Simulator Strong odds $5.8k 13 devs
  17. FMV + Choose Your Own Adventure Fair $54k 79 devs
  18. Adventure + FMV Fair $39k 144 devs
  19. FMV + Interactive Fiction Fair $36k 164 devs
  20. Survival Horror + FMV Fair $31k 13 devs
  21. FMV + Thriller Fair $16k 29 devs
  22. Open World + FMV Fair $14k 11 devs
  23. Sports + FMV Fair $2.7k 17 devs
  24. FMV + Platformer Fair $899 9 devs
  25. FMV + LGBTQ+ Fair $599 36 devs
  26. FMV + Modern Poor odds $76k 22 devs
  27. CRPG + FMV Poor odds $58k 16 devs
  28. FMV + Sci-fi Poor odds $52k 28 devs
  29. FMV + Historical Poor odds $45k 15 devs
  30. FMV + Crime Poor odds $44k 19 devs
  31. FMV + Quick-Time Events Poor odds $43k 13 devs
  32. FMV + Psychological Poor odds $40k 22 devs
  33. FMV + Detective Poor odds $31k 20 devs
  34. FMV + Mystery Poor odds $31k 61 devs
  35. FMV + Fantasy Poor odds $30k 31 devs
  36. FMV + Female Protagonist Poor odds $27k 75 devs
  37. Exploration + FMV Poor odds $27k 45 devs
  38. Action RPG + FMV Poor odds $20k 12 devs
  39. FMV + Supernatural Poor odds $16k 12 devs
  40. FMV + Horror Poor odds $13k 50 devs
  41. Action + FMV Poor odds $10k 48 devs
  42. FMV + Psychological Horror Poor odds $9.9k 33 devs
  43. FMV + Puzzle Poor odds $9.5k 46 devs
  44. FMV + Futuristic Poor odds $7.2k 12 devs
  45. FMV + Logic Poor odds $7.2k 11 devs
  46. Action-Adventure + FMV Poor odds $6.5k 21 devs
  47. Shooter + FMV Poor odds $6.5k 16 devs
  48. FMV + Point & Click Poor odds $5.8k 37 devs
  49. FMV + Investigation Poor odds $5.1k 17 devs
  50. FMV + Hidden Object Poor odds $3.3k 12 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Inscryption 2021 · $81M Quantum Break 2016 · $28M Need for Speed™ 2020 · $23M Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection 2020 · $19M Tempest Rising 2025 · $12M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Inscryption older $19.99 135,017 96% 4.1M $81M (exactly $80,969,695) Daniel Mullins Games
Quantum Break older $39.99 23,141 86% 694k $28M (exactly $27,762,258) Remedy Entertainment
Need for Speed™ older $29.99 25,443 69% 763k $23M (exactly $22,891,067) Ghost Games
Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection older $19.99 31,503 90% 945k $19M (exactly $18,892,349) Petroglyph, Lemon Sky Studios
Tempest Rising $39.99 9,811 87% 294k $12M (exactly $11,770,257) Slipgate Ironworks™
Love Is All Around older $9.99 36,203 93% 1.1M $11M (exactly $10,850,039) intiny
Revenge on gold diggers $6.99 46,610 80% 1.4M $9.8M (exactly $9,774,117) 前方工作室
Not For Broadcast older $24.99 10,337 94% 310k $7.7M (exactly $7,749,649) NotGames
Mirror 2: Project X · EA older $1.99 111,251 24% 3.3M $6.6M (exactly $6,641,685) KAGAMI Ⅱ WORKs
428: Shibuya Scramble older $49.99 3,767 94% 113k $5.6M (exactly $5,649,370) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd., Abstraction G… (Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd., Abstraction Games)
Road to Empress Ⅱ $18.00 7,773 80% 233k $4.2M (exactly $4,197,420) New One Studio
Five Hearts Under One Roof $19.99 5,881 91% 176k $3.5M (exactly $3,526,836) Storytaco
Road to Empress I $8.49 11,829 86% 355k $3.0M (exactly $3,012,846) New One Studio
Mandate Of Heaven $14.99 5,446 91% 163k $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) 木焱工作室
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
Five Hearts Under One Roof season2 $22.99 2,149 96% 64k $1.5M (exactly $1,482,165) Storytaco
Eclipsium $12.99 3,306 91% 99k $1.3M (exactly $1,288,348) Housefire
Hello Love: 18 Again $19.99 2,075 92% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,244,378) 念念而忘(Echofall Studio)

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