Should I ship a Viking game?
Vikings
Of 36 developers who shipped a Viking 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.. 82 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×513 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 82 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,307) |
| Top 25% | $22k (exactly $22,089) |
| Top 5% | $322k (exactly $322,039) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 134 |
| Announced | 82 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.50 |
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 30% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Vikings
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Price point
- $6.50 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.50.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 4,082 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 82 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
All pairs with Vikings
No pair with Vikings has 25 games yet.
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Assassin's Creed Valhalla | older | $59.99 | 41,083 70% | 1.2M | $74M (exactly $73,937,075) | Ubisoft Montreal |
| | Northgard: Definitive Edition | older | $34.99 | 54,478 85% | 1.6M | $57M (exactly $57,185,557) | Shiro Games |
| | Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga | older | $49.99 | 9,381 86% | 281k | $14M (exactly $14,068,686) | Ninja Theory |
| | Tribes of Midgard | older | $19.99 | 17,465 76% | 524k | $10M (exactly $10,473,760) | Norsfell |
| | The Banner Saga | older | $24.99 | 13,470 88% | 404k | $10M (exactly $10,098,459) | Stoic |
| | ASKA | · EA older | $24.99 | 10,457 79% | 314k | $7.8M (exactly $7,839,613) | Sand Sailor Studio |
| | A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA | older | $19.99 | 12,326 70% | 370k | $7.4M (exactly $7,391,902) | CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (M… (CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
| | Ancestors Legacy | older | $34.99 | 5,794 80% | 174k | $6.1M (exactly $6,081,962) | Destructive Creations |
| | Bad North: Jotunn Edition | older | $14.99 | 12,344 93% | 370k | $5.6M (exactly $5,551,097) | Plausible Concept, Oskar Stålberg |
| | Expeditions: Viking | older | $29.99 | 3,293 82% | 99k | $3.0M (exactly $2,962,712) | Logic Artists |
| | Homura Hime | $24.99 | 2,316 90% | 69k | $1.7M (exactly $1,736,305) | Crimson Dusk | |
| | Viking Frontiers | $19.99 | 537 51% | 16k | $322k (exactly $322,039) | BLUM Entertainment | |
| | Spear Song | · EA | $14.99 | 170 88% | 5.1k | $76k (exactly $76,449) | Divovision Games |
| | Odinfall | · EA | $12.99 | 194 82% | 5.8k | $76k (exactly $75,602) | Ember Paw Games |
| | Vikings: Sex and Blood | $14.99 | 155 62% | 4.7k | $70k (exactly $69,704) | DreamBig Games | |
| | ShipShaper: Falconeer Chronicles | · EA | $8.99 | 192 96% | 5.8k | $52k (exactly $51,782) | Tomas Sala |
| | Vilde | $15.99 | 87 74% | 2.6k | $42k (exactly $41,734) | Chaotic Minds | |
| | Tales Of Glory 4 : Ragnarok | · EA | $29.99 | 31 83% | 930 | $28k (exactly $27,891) | BlackTale Games |
| | FIND ALL 5: Vikings | $1.99 | 370 95% | 11k | $22k (exactly $22,089) | Very Very LITTLE Studio | |
| | Horn of the Warlord | $14.99 | 30 96% | 900 | $13k (exactly $13,491) | MagicKrol |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.