Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Word Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Word Game?

Word Game

Of 607 developers who shipped a Word 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.. 745 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 1 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $810, ×6.8 the market's $120 for a 1 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×1267 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 745 games are announced against 393 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 745 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Word Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 607
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $955 → $1.2k → $1.3k → $1.3k → $1.2k → $599 (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Word Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 607
Bottom 30% $178 (exactly $178)
Median $807 (exactly $807)
Top 25% $6.7k (exactly $6,736)
Top 5% $151k (exactly $150,774)
Developers, 2 yr 607
Released games 1,712
Announced 745
Effort 1 / 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 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Word Game
effort 1 / 10 · high · dictionary logic and simple UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
1 / 10 · text and UI only
Systems
Word Game
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.50 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.50 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 56,284 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $810, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 319 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 745 games are announced against 393 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Word Game

70 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Survival + Word Game Fair $2.1k 22 devs
  2. Tactical + Word Game Fair $1.8k 23 devs
  3. Point & Click + Word Game Fair $1.6k 60 devs
  4. Loot + Word Game Fair $1.6k 15 devs
  5. Automation + Word Game Fair $1.6k 12 devs
  6. Choose Your Own Adventure + Word Game Fair $1.4k 55 devs
  7. Procedural Generation + Word Game Fair $1.3k 22 devs
  8. Collectathon + Word Game Fair $1.2k 18 devs
  9. Hidden Object + Word Game Fair $1.2k 29 devs
  10. Incremental + Word Game Fair $1.2k 91 devs
  11. Dungeon Crawler + Word Game Fair $899 12 devs
  12. Puzzle + Word Game Fair $719 209 devs
  13. Logic + Word Game Fair $538 92 devs
  14. Co-op + Word Game Long shot $267 23 devs
  15. Otome + Word Game Poor odds $6.5k 22 devs
  16. Dating Sim + Word Game Poor odds $6.1k 105 devs
  17. Dynamic Narration + Word Game Poor odds $5.2k 10 devs
  18. JRPG + Word Game Poor odds $4.5k 42 devs
  19. Roguelike + Word Game Poor odds $4.2k 39 devs
  20. Deckbuilding + Word Game Poor odds $2.4k 29 devs
  21. Choices Matter + Word Game Poor odds $2.3k 90 devs
  22. Visual Novel + Word Game Poor odds $2.2k 224 devs
  23. Multiple Endings + Word Game Poor odds $2.2k 138 devs
  24. Roguelite + Word Game Poor odds $2.2k 43 devs
  25. Immersive Sim + Word Game Poor odds $2.1k 56 devs
  26. Interactive Fiction + Word Game Poor odds $1.8k 177 devs
  27. Turn-Based Combat + Word Game Poor odds $1.6k 23 devs
  28. Open World + Word Game Poor odds $1.6k 16 devs
  29. Card Game + Word Game Poor odds $1.6k 23 devs
  30. Crafting + Word Game Poor odds $1.6k 14 devs
  31. RPG + Word Game Poor odds $1.5k 248 devs
  32. Turn-Based Tactics + Word Game Poor odds $1.5k 23 devs
  33. Adventure + Word Game Poor odds $1.4k 211 devs
  34. Idler + Word Game Poor odds $1.3k 48 devs
  35. Management + Word Game Poor odds $1.3k 18 devs
  36. Simulation + Word Game Poor odds $1.3k 158 devs
  37. Sandbox + Word Game Poor odds $1.3k 9 devs
  38. Investigation + Word Game Poor odds $1.3k 35 devs
  39. Resource Management + Word Game Poor odds $1.2k 19 devs
  40. Exploration + Word Game Poor odds $1.2k 92 devs
  41. Local Co-Op + Word Game Poor odds $1.2k 10 devs
  42. Combat + Word Game Poor odds $1.1k 21 devs
  43. Strategy + Word Game Poor odds $1.1k 140 devs
  44. Turn-Based Strategy + Word Game Poor odds $899 21 devs
  45. Character Customization + Word Game Poor odds $897 18 devs
  46. Strategy RPG + Word Game Poor odds $832 26 devs
  47. 2D Platformer + Word Game Poor odds $779 112 devs
  48. PvE + Word Game Poor odds $719 15 devs
  49. Life Sim + Word Game Poor odds $629 36 devs
  50. Time Management + Word Game Poor odds $629 33 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Chants of Sennaar 2023 · $18M The Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynasty 2024 · $15M Word Game 2022 · $6.2M Cyber Manhunt 2021 · $4.4M 月に寄りそう乙女の作法 2022 · $4.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chants of Sennaar older $19.99 30,416 98% 912k $18M (exactly $18,240,475) Rundisc
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)
Word Game older $34.99 5,930 93% 178k $6.2M (exactly $6,224,721) Team9
Cyber Manhunt older $9.99 14,520 92% 436k $4.4M (exactly $4,351,644) Aluba Van+
月に寄りそう乙女の作法 older $39.99 3,462 97% 104k $4.2M (exactly $4,153,361) Navel
The Jackbox Party Pack 7 older $29.99 4,001 96% 120k $3.6M (exactly $3,599,700) Jackbox Games, Inc.
Homicipher $13.99 7,821 96% 235k $3.3M (exactly $3,282,474) 八名木Games
Far Away older $12.99 7,598 94% 228k $3.0M (exactly $2,960,941) Gratesca
The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall $11.99 8,227 58% 247k $3.0M (exactly $2,959,252) 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame)
Lay a Beauty to Rest: The Darkness Peach Blossom Spring older $13.99 6,310 95% 189k $2.6M (exactly $2,648,307) 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame)
Mandate Of Heaven $14.99 5,446 91% 163k $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) 木焱工作室
Sweet Home $7.99 9,910 94% 297k $2.4M (exactly $2,375,427) 开心茶房
The Séance of Blake Manor $19.99 3,683 95% 110k $2.2M (exactly $2,208,695) Spooky Doorway
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator $12.99 5,191 92% 156k $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) Aluba Van+
Matchmaking Inc. $8.99 5,773 87% 173k $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) Wave Games
月华辉映之刻 $11.99 4,227 89% 127k $1.5M (exactly $1,520,452) 侠客狗工作室
灾厄黑龙与谎言公主 $9.99 3,682 90% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,103,495) 莓夜工作室
S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH $13.99 2,324 90% 70k $975k (exactly $975,383) U0U Games

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