Runners
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 4 platforms: niche 51/100, demand 60/100, competition 51/100, development cost 24/100. On Steam: 1,671 games and 981 players online; 4% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $5.37.
Niche
51/100
Demand (0–100)
60/100
Competition
51/100
Dev cost
24/100
Spend per player
$5.37
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
4%
Key findings
- Ranked #40 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on Google Play (89/100) and weakest on Steam (22/100).
- Competition is below typical: 51/100 vs a median of 57/100 — a new game has an easier time getting noticed.
- 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 | 16/100 | 1,671 | 55/100 | 22/100 | 20/100 |
| itch.io | 56/100 | 6,974 | 64/100 | 45/100 | 23/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 99/100 | 48% | 21/100 | 89/100 | 32/100 |
| App Store | 69/100 | 70% | 65/100 | 49/100 | 23/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Mirror's Edge CatalystDICE · $19.99
Ghostrunner 2One More Level · $39.99
Dead Island Retro RevengeEmpty Clip Studios · $4.99
Indie
Dark DeceptionGlowstick Entertainment · free
Furry KillerSujiko · $29.99
Race The SunFlippfly LLC · $9.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology