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Should I ship an Interactive Fiction?
Interactive Fiction
Of 2,154 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction 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.. 3,610 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 1 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×17 the market's $120 for a 1 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×2244 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 3,610 games are announced against 1,292 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.0k (exactly $2,030) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $15,740) |
| Top 5% | $267k (exactly $267,033) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 2,154 |
| Released games | 6,579 |
| Announced | 3,610 |
| Effort | 1 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Interactive Fiction
- effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine
What it takes
- Effort
- 1 / 10 · text and UI only
- Systems
- Interactive Fiction
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 123,369 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 1,326 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 3,610 games are announced against 1,292 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
All pairs with Interactive Fiction
- Interactive Fiction + Villain Protagonist Dead $9.6k
- Interactive Fiction + World War II Dead $7.1k
- Minigames + Interactive Fiction Dead $1.8k
- Racing + Interactive Fiction Dead $1.5k
- Interactive Fiction + Solitaire Dead $1.4k
- Bullet Hell + Interactive Fiction Dead $959
- Shoot 'Em Up + Interactive Fiction Dead $959
- Farming Sim + Interactive Fiction Dead $599
- Interactive Fiction + Underwater Dead $538
- Action RPG + Interactive Fiction Dead $419
- Puzzle Platformer + Interactive Fiction Dead $359
- Mystery Dungeon + Interactive Fiction Dead $358
- 3D Platformer + Interactive Fiction Dead $300
- Hack and Slash + Interactive Fiction Dead $300
- PvE + Interactive Fiction Dead $299
- Interactive Fiction + Dragons Dead $299
- Action Roguelike + Interactive Fiction Dead $120
- Interactive Fiction + Martial Arts Dead $119
- Interactive Fiction + Mechs Dead $0
- Real Time Tactics + Interactive Fiction Dead $0
Comparable games
The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series 2020 · $55M 
A Plague Tale: Requiem 2022 · $31M 
The Henry Stickmin Collection 2020 · $25M 
SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M 
To the Moon 2012 · $21M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series | older | $49.99 | 36,594 96% | 1.1M | $55M (exactly $54,880,022) | Skybound Games |
| | A Plague Tale: Requiem | older | $49.99 | 20,797 90% | 624k | $31M (exactly $31,189,261) | Asobo Studio |
| | The Henry Stickmin Collection | older | $14.99 | 55,826 98% | 1.7M | $25M (exactly $25,104,952) | PuffballsUnited |
| | SCARLET NEXUS | older | $59.99 | 13,749 81% | 412k | $25M (exactly $24,744,075) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
| | To the Moon | older | $9.99 | 69,549 95% | 2.1M | $21M (exactly $20,843,835) | Freebird Games |
 | Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut | older | $17.99 | 31,885 96% | 957k | $17M (exactly $17,208,334) | Black Tabby Games |
 | Heavy Rain | older | $19.99 | 26,503 85% | 795k | $16M (exactly $15,893,849) | Quantic Dream |
 | The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty | older | $9.99 | 49,765 94% | 1.5M | $15M (exactly $14,914,570) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) |
 | Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! | older | $14.99 | 30,148 97% | 904k | $14M (exactly $13,557,556) | Team Salvato |
 | Road 96 🛣️ | older | $19.96 | 22,118 91% | 664k | $13M (exactly $13,244,258) | Digixart |
 | Revenge on gold diggers | $6.99 | 46,610 80% | 1.4M | $9.8M (exactly $9,774,117) | 前方工作室 | |
 | Sora no Kiseki the 1st | $59.99 | 5,205 97% | 156k | $9.4M (exactly $9,367,438) | Nihon Falcom | |
 | Tiny Bunny | $10.99 | 27,200 83% | 816k | $9.0M (exactly $8,967,840) | Saikono, Sokar | |
 | Lost Records: Bloom & Rage | $39.99 | 5,873 86% | 176k | $7.0M (exactly $7,045,838) | DON'T NOD | |
 | Esoteric Ebb | $24.99 | 8,719 95% | 262k | $6.5M (exactly $6,536,634) | Christoffer Bodegård | |
 | Until Dawn™ | $59.99 | 3,564 82% | 107k | $6.4M (exactly $6,414,131) | Ballistic Moon | |
 | The Roottrees are Dead | $19.99 | 9,700 96% | 291k | $5.8M (exactly $5,817,090) | Evil Trout Inc. | |
 | Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown | $34.99 | 4,162 79% | 125k | $4.4M (exactly $4,368,851) | Gamexcite | |
 | Road to Empress Ⅱ | $18.00 | 7,773 80% | 233k | $4.2M (exactly $4,197,420) | New One Studio | |
 | Tavern Keeper 🍻 | · EA | $29.99 | 4,563 94% | 137k | $4.1M (exactly $4,105,331) | Greenheart Games 💚 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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