Puzzle
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 5 platforms: niche 41/100, demand 83/100, competition 73/100, development cost 28/100. On Steam: 16,894 games and 102,707 players online; 12% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $10.78.
Niche
41/100
Demand (0–100)
83/100
Competition
73/100
Dev cost
28/100
Spend per player
$10.78
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
12%
Key findings
- Ranked #83 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on App Store (92/100) and weakest on itch.io (17/100).
- Competition is above typical: 73/100 vs a median of 57/100 — standing out will take a strong hook or marketing.
- Development is cheaper than typical: index 28/100 vs a median of 39/100 — the genre is within reach of a small team.
- On Steam, only 12% of games reached 500+ reviews — less often than usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 67% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 62/100 | 16,894 | 88/100 | 29/100 | 31/100 |
| itch.io | 94/100 | 180,526 | 97/100 | 17/100 | 26/100 |
| Yandex Games | 77/100 | 2,987 | 85/100 | 34/100 | 23/100 |
| Google Play | 87/100 | 92% | 87/100 | 33/100 | 29/100 |
| App Store | 94/100 | 25% | 10/100 | 92/100 | 30/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
PortalValve · $9.99
Portal 2Valve · $9.99
It Takes TwoHazelight Studios · $39.99
Indie
Human Fall FlatNo Brakes Games · $19.99
StrayBlueTwelve Studio · $29.99
Poppy PlaytimeMob Entertainment · free
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology