Should I ship a Short game?
Short
Of 592 developers who shipped a Short 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.. 569 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 2 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×11 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is flat on the market; 569 games are announced against 377 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,336) |
| Top 25% | $7.8k (exactly $7,804) |
| Top 5% | $147k (exactly $147,153) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 592 |
| Released games | 2,913 |
| Announced | 569 |
| Effort | 2 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Short
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 125,341 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 356 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 569 games are announced against 377 developers who shipped in the last year.
All pairs with Short
No pair with Short has 25 games yet.
Comparable games
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition 2026 · $126M 
Firewatch 2016 · $56M 
Portal 2007 · $52M 
Little Nightmares 2017 · $31M 
What Remains of Edith Finch 2017 · $28M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition | $59.99 | 70,073 78% | 2.1M | $126M (exactly $126,110,378) | Asobo Studio | |
| | Firewatch | older | $19.99 | 93,690 90% | 2.8M | $56M (exactly $56,185,893) | Campo Santo |
| | Portal | older | $9.99 | 173,594 98% | 5.2M | $52M (exactly $52,026,122) | Valve |
| | Little Nightmares | older | $19.99 | 52,184 94% | 1.6M | $31M (exactly $31,294,745) | Tarsier Studios |
| | What Remains of Edith Finch | older | $19.99 | 47,036 95% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,207,489) | Giant Sparrow |
 | Bright Memory: Infinite | older | $19.99 | 36,229 91% | 1.1M | $22M (exactly $21,726,531) | FYQD-Studio |
 | To the Moon | older | $9.99 | 69,549 95% | 2.1M | $21M (exactly $20,843,835) | Freebird Games |
 | SUPERHOT | older | $24.99 | 27,765 91% | 833k | $21M (exactly $20,815,420) | SUPERHOT Team |
 | The Stanley Parable | older | $14.99 | 40,292 92% | 1.2M | $18M (exactly $18,119,312) | Galactic Cafe |
 | Transistor | older | $19.99 | 27,993 93% | 840k | $17M (exactly $16,787,402) | Supergiant Games |
 | Scritchy Scratchy | $6.99 | 15,245 94% | 457k | $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) | Lunch Money Games | |
 | Bills Must Be Paid | $6.99 | 9,928 96% | 298k | $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) | Rike Games | |
 | Leaf it Alone | $5.99 | 6,244 95% | 187k | $1.1M (exactly $1,122,047) | Eternity | |
 | Spilled! | $5.99 | 4,905 93% | 147k | $881k (exactly $881,428) | Lente | |
 | DEAD LETTER DEPT. | $14.99 | 1,777 95% | 53k | $799k (exactly $799,117) | Mike Monroe, Belief Engine | |
 | Tower Wizard | $2.99 | 8,787 96% | 264k | $788k (exactly $788,194) | Barribob | |
 | Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping | $9.99 | 2,571 96% | 77k | $771k (exactly $770,529) | Happy Broccoli Games | |
 | The Dark Queen of Mortholme | $4.99 | 4,075 83% | 122k | $610k (exactly $610,028) | Mosu | |
 | Undusted: Letters from the Past | $9.99 | 1,736 96% | 52k | $520k (exactly $520,279) | 5minlab Corp. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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