Match-3
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 5 platforms: niche 50/100, demand 66/100, competition 53/100, development cost 24/100. On Steam: 1,099 games and 8,931 players online; 4% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $3.82.
Niche
50/100
Demand (0–100)
66/100
Competition
53/100
Dev cost
24/100
Spend per player
$3.82
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
4%
Key findings
- Ranked #45 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on App Store (65/100) and weakest on Steam (32/100).
- Competition is at a typical level: 53/100 vs a median of 57/100.
- Development is cheaper than typical: index 24/100 vs a median of 39/100 — the genre is within reach of a small team.
- On Steam, only 4% of games reached 500+ reviews — less often than usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 60% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 38/100 | 1,099 | 49/100 | 32/100 | 21/100 |
| itch.io | 66/100 | 720 | 41/100 | 62/100 | 23/100 |
| Yandex Games | 57/100 | 319 | 44/100 | 57/100 | 20/100 |
| Google Play | 87/100 | 90% | 85/100 | 36/100 | 27/100 |
| App Store | 81/100 | 57% | 49/100 | 65/100 | 29/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Gems of War - Puzzle RPGInfinity Plus 2 · free
Bejeweled 3PopCap Games, Inc. · $4.99
Zuma DeluxePopCap Games, Inc. · $4.99
Indie
Mirror 2: Project XKAGAMI Ⅱ WORKs · $1.99
HuniePopHuniePot · $9.99
The Legend of Bum-BoEdmund McMillen, James Interactive, Ridiculon · $14.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology