Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Stealth

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Stealth game?

Stealth

Of 1,115 developers who shipped a Stealth 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.. 2,428 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $720k, ×1152 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 2,428 games are announced against 643 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 2,428 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Stealth
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,115
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $1.9k → $2.9k → $1.3k → $1.7k → $1.3k → $1.0k (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Stealth: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,115
Bottom 30% $298 (exactly $298)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,134)
Top 25% $9.9k (exactly $9,880)
Top 5% $724k (exactly $723,605)
Developers, 2 yr 1,115
Released games 3,581
Announced 2,428
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 down 15% on the market, supply 30% 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.

Stealth
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
Stealth
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 93% positive over 945,949 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $9.8k, 1 in 20 over $720k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 620 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 2,428 games are announced against 643 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Stealth

106 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Stealth + Action Poor odds $1.3k 732 devs
  2. Social Deduction + Stealth Poor odds $1.3k 28 devs
  3. Action-Adventure + Stealth Poor odds $1.2k 458 devs
  4. Stealth + Bullet Hell Poor odds $1.2k 8 devs
  5. Character Customization + Stealth Poor odds $1.0k 63 devs
  6. Stealth + Roguelike Poor odds $1.0k 51 devs
  7. Stealth + Time Manipulation Poor odds $1.0k 17 devs
  8. Stealth + Turn-Based Strategy Poor odds $1.0k 11 devs
  9. Stealth + Escape Room Poor odds $987 22 devs
  10. Stealth + Investigation Poor odds $972 115 devs
  11. Stealth + Puzzle Poor odds $899 329 devs
  12. Stealth + Platformer Poor odds $899 65 devs
  13. Stealth + Dungeon Crawler Poor odds $899 55 devs
  14. Stealth + Roguelite Poor odds $899 40 devs
  15. Stealth + Bullet Time Poor odds $899 12 devs
  16. Stealth + Choices Matter Poor odds $898 90 devs
  17. Real Time Tactics + Stealth Poor odds $838 38 devs
  18. Sniper + Stealth Poor odds $779 12 devs
  19. PvP + Stealth Poor odds $748 109 devs
  20. Stealth + Local Multiplayer Poor odds $748 27 devs
  21. Stealth + Multiple Endings Poor odds $719 121 devs
  22. Stealth + Top-Down Shooter Poor odds $628 25 devs
  23. Stealth + Point & Click Poor odds $599 27 devs
  24. Stealth + Strategy RPG Poor odds $599 19 devs
  25. Arena Shooter + Stealth Poor odds $599 16 devs
  26. Stealth + Dating Sim Poor odds $599 16 devs
  27. Stealth + 4 Player Local Poor odds $599 10 devs
  28. Stealth + Level Editor Poor odds $599 6 devs
  29. Stealth + Hidden Object Poor odds $539 166 devs
  30. Stealth + Time Management Poor odds $539 31 devs
  31. Stealth + Quick-Time Events Poor odds $538 18 devs
  32. Stealth + Logic Poor odds $480 47 devs
  33. Stealth + Strategy Poor odds $449 158 devs
  34. Stealth + Puzzle Platformer Poor odds $449 54 devs
  35. Stealth + Interactive Fiction Poor odds $449 38 devs
  36. Stealth + Choose Your Own Adventure Poor odds $449 31 devs
  37. Stealth + Party Game Poor odds $419 47 devs
  38. Stealth + 3D Platformer Poor odds $359 90 devs
  39. Stealth + 2D Platformer Poor odds $300 49 devs
  40. Stealth + Incremental Poor odds $180 9 devs
  41. Co-op Campaign + Stealth Dead $250k 13 devs
  42. Stealth + Metroidvania Dead $12k 11 devs
  43. Stealth + 6DOF Dead $2.4k 9 devs
  44. Hero Shooter + Stealth Dead $1.4k 10 devs
  45. Destruction + Stealth Dead $1.4k 3 devs
  46. Stealth + Dynamic Narration Dead $1.2k 10 devs
  47. Stealth + Shoot 'Em Up Dead $719 10 devs
  48. Stealth + Mystery Dungeon Dead $478 30 devs
  49. Battle Royale + Stealth Dead $359 9 devs
  50. Flight + Stealth Dead $359 7 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition 2019 · $467M Dead by Daylight 2016 · $411M Far Cry® 5 2018 · $311M Assassin's Creed® Odyssey 2018 · $310M Dying Light 2015 · $280M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition older $59.99 259,508 95% 7.8M $467M (exactly $467,036,548) FromSoftware, Inc.
Dead by Daylight older $19.99 685,423 78% 21M $411M (exactly $411,048,173) Behaviour Interactive Inc.
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)
Dying Light older $24.99 373,413 95% 11M $280M (exactly $279,947,726) Techland
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition older $39.99 219,271 94% 6.6M $263M (exactly $263,059,419) Bethesda Game Studios
Assassin's Creed® Origins older $59.99 119,764 85% 3.6M $216M (exactly $215,539,271) Ubisoft Montreal
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered older $59.99 101,879 96% 3.1M $183M (exactly $183,351,636) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Schedule I · EA $19.99 288,939 97% 8.7M $173M (exactly $173,276,718) TVGS
Persona 5 Royal older $59.99 91,682 96% 2.8M $165M (exactly $165,000,095) ATLUS
R.E.P.O. · EA $9.99 341,004 96% 10M $102M (exactly $102,198,899) semiwork
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)
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 $59.99 33,433 83% 1.0M $60M (exactly $60,169,370) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
The Last of Us™ Part II Remastered $49.99 34,252 90% 1.0M $51M (exactly $51,367,724) Naughty Dog LLC, Nixxes Software, Iron… (Naughty Dog LLC, Nixxes Software, Iron Galaxy Studios)
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced $59.99 26,652 81% 800k $48M (exactly $47,965,604) Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft Barcelona, U… (Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft Barcelona, Ubisoft Bordeaux, Ubisoft Belgrade, Ubisoft Chengdu, Ubisoft India, Ubisoft Kyiv, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Philippines, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Romania)
Escape the Backrooms $9.99 137,315 90% 4.1M $41M (exactly $41,153,306) Fancy Games, Blackbird Interactive
DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH $69.99 15,434 94% 463k $32M (exactly $32,406,770) KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, Nixxes Software
Mafia: The Old Country $49.99 20,909 71% 627k $31M (exactly $31,357,227) Hangar 13
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle $69.99 13,058 89% 392k $27M (exactly $27,417,883) MachineGames

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