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Should I ship an Intentionally Awkward Controls game?
Intentionally Awkward Controls
Of 40 developers who shipped an Intentionally Awkward Controls game 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.. 24 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×433 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 24 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $12,792) |
| Top 5% | $206k (exactly $205,894) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 130 |
| Announced | 24 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 40% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Intentionally Awkward Controls
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Intentionally Awkward Controls
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 4,838 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
All pairs with Intentionally Awkward Controls
Comparable games
Surgeon Simulator 2013 · $4.1M 
Octodad: Dadliest Catch 2014 · $4.1M 
while True: learn() 2019 · $2.9M 
Hand Simulator 2017 · $2.5M 
I Am Bread 2015 · $1.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Surgeon Simulator | older | $9.99 | 13,796 82% | 414k | $4.1M (exactly $4,134,661) | Bossa Studios |
| | Octodad: Dadliest Catch | older | $14.99 | 9,101 94% | 273k | $4.1M (exactly $4,092,720) | Young Horses |
| | while True: learn() | older | $12.99 | 7,350 91% | 221k | $2.9M (exactly $2,864,295) | Luden.io |
| | Hand Simulator | older | $2.99 | 28,415 84% | 852k | $2.5M (exactly $2,548,826) | HFM Games |
| | I Am Bread | older | $12.99 | 4,793 78% | 144k | $1.9M (exactly $1,867,832) | Bossa Studios |
 | The Greatest Penguin Heist of All Time | $14.99 | 2,361 90% | 71k | $1.1M (exactly $1,061,742) | That Fish, That Other Fish | |
 | Manual Samuel - Last Tuesday Edition | older | $9.99 | 1,522 85% | 46k | $456k (exactly $456,143) | Perfectly Paranormal |
 | Stilt Fella | older | $12.99 | 794 92% | 24k | $309k (exactly $309,422) | September Games |
 | Backseat Drivers | $9.99 | 687 78% | 21k | $206k (exactly $205,894) | GhostJam Games, Deadcat Studios | |
 | Table Manners: Physics-Based Dating Game | older | $17.99 | 369 57% | 11k | $199k (exactly $199,149) | Echo Chamber Games |
 | WASD : The Adventure of Tori | $3.99 | 730 83% | 22k | $87k (exactly $87,381) | EVNA Games | |
 | Grandma, No! | $14.99 | 77 89% | 2.3k | $35k (exactly $34,627) | WALLRIDE | |
 | Fingerdance | $2.99 | 374 97% | 11k | $34k (exactly $33,548) | zniq | |
 | ACUVAC: A Suck and Blow Adventure | $14.99 | 54 98% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $24,284) | Curdle Games, Mr_Afroduck | |
 | All About Chopsticks | $3.99 | 180 82% | 5.4k | $22k (exactly $21,546) | Achimphang Studio | |
 | Get Tilted! :) | $14.99 | 45 97% | 1.4k | $20k (exactly $20,236) | Timebat Studio | |
 | Ells Tales: Chairbound | $1.99 | 269 81% | 8.1k | $16k (exactly $16,059) | Ells&Pills | |
 | Left Not Right | $6.99 | 61 93% | 1.8k | $13k (exactly $12,792) | GamjaGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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