Should I ship a Samurai game?
Samurai
Of 31 developers who shipped a Samurai 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $13k, ×21 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $23M, ×37711 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 56 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $13k (exactly $13,187) |
| Top 25% | $240k (exactly $240,220) |
| Top 5% | $24M (exactly $23,682,516) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 31 |
| Released games | 77 |
| Announced | 56 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 95% on the market, supply 190% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 3%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Samurai
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 57,338 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 4 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
All pairs with Samurai
- Adventure + Samurai Fair $261k
- RPG + Samurai Poor odds $261k
- Swordplay + Samurai Poor odds $80k
- Action + Samurai Poor odds $17k
Comparable games
Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT 2024 · $116M 
Kenshi 2018 · $89M 
Assassin’s Creed Shadows 2025 · $73M 
Nioh: Complete Edition 2017 · $44M 
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun 2016 · $37M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT | older | $59.99 | 64,591 93% | 1.9M | $116M (exactly $116,244,423) | Sucker Punch Productions, Nixxes Softwa… (Sucker Punch Productions, Nixxes Software) |
| | Kenshi | older | $29.99 | 98,451 95% | 3.0M | $89M (exactly $88,576,365) | Lo-Fi Games |
| | Assassin’s Creed Shadows | $69.99 | 34,953 75% | 1.0M | $73M (exactly $73,390,814) | Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Belgrade, Ubiso… (Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Belgrade, Ubisoft Bordeaux, Ubisoft Bucharest & Craiova, Ubisoft Chengdu, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Osaka, Ubisoft Philippines, Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft Sofia, Ubisoft Ukraine) | |
| | Nioh: Complete Edition | older | $49.99 | 29,580 78% | 887k | $44M (exactly $44,361,126) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun | older | $39.99 | 30,845 96% | 925k | $37M (exactly $37,004,746) | Mimimi Games |
 | Onimusha: Way of the Sword | $69.99 | 11,279 89% | 338k | $24M (exactly $23,682,516) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | Rise of the Ronin | $49.99 | 6,503 64% | 195k | $9.8M (exactly $9,752,549) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | Like a Dragon: Ishin! | older | $39.99 | 4,891 80% | 147k | $5.9M (exactly $5,867,733) | RGG Studio |
 | NOBUNAGA'S AMBITION: Awakening | older | $59.99 | 2,320 74% | 70k | $4.2M (exactly $4,175,304) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
 | SAMURAI SHODOWN | older | $49.53 | 1,685 81% | 51k | $2.5M (exactly $2,503,742) | SNK CORPORATION |
 | Bladesong | · EA | $19.99 | 1,483 95% | 44k | $889k (exactly $889,355) | SUN AND SERPENT creations |
 | Utawarerumono: Past and Present Rediscovered | $59.99 | 289 83% | 8.7k | $520k (exactly $520,113) | AQUAPLUS | |
 | Wagotabi: A Japanese Journey | $9.99 | 1,543 98% | 46k | $462k (exactly $462,437) | Wagotabi Limited | |
 | Katanaut | $17.99 | 484 88% | 15k | $261k (exactly $261,215) | Voidmaw | |
 | Expeditions: Samurai | · EA | $29.99 | 267 59% | 8.0k | $240k (exactly $240,220) | Campfire Cabal |
 | Warlord: Awaji | $24.99 | 256 78% | 7.7k | $192k (exactly $191,923) | Darkmatter Games | |
 | Gurei | $15.99 | 281 83% | 8.4k | $135k (exactly $134,796) | Lobo Sagaz studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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