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Ross Burton

@rossburton.bsky.social

260 followers 1.3K following 430 posts

Data Scientist 🤖 Aspiring Indie Game Dev 🎮 Full-time nerd 🤓 One half of the Game Oracle team - check out more: bit.ly/3UTKAQd

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · Aug 22

It was really fun visualising how #gamedev #indiegamedev trends on #steam have changed over time, including the rise & fall of #VR & the growth of certain NSFW games 🤭 I also cover some of the growing trends in 2025. Watch it here 👉 youtu.be/GR_HGqzYnXQ?...

The Evolution of Steam

YouTube video by Game Oracle

youtu.be

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 1d

Just finished our last two product ideas which makes us feature complete - v3.4 coming soon 🚀 w/ new toys:
- Concept Compass 🧭 all-in-one tool for evaluating a game concept using market data from our Steam map
- Bundle Builder 🧺 find similar games & collect socials to help organise bundles
#gamedev

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 1d

PEAK is being called "friendslop". I used Data Explorer to study 1000 most similar games & to no surprise, in terms of sales the market here performs incredibly well. But on average these games are poorly rated (we use medians btw). I dunno, seems like a gamble making games like this. #gamedev

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 4d

There is a big red blob on our Saturation Map which is #horror games but I was curious about this cluster to the left of it (red circle) - turns out its psychological horrors revolving around anomaly detection & looping reality. Example game being I'm on Observation Duty #gamedev #indiegames

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 4d

OOP Patterns 😍 #gamedev #godot
youtu.be/h21Lmg4o1Ks?...

Godot has Abstract Classes now!! (here's how to use them)

YouTube video by Queble

youtu.be

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you! We hope it will help guide some of our own games soon. Best of luck with Age of the Deep. Letting players navigate on land & swim under the sea must be tricky but it looks like you're nailing it. I've wishlist it 👍 looking forward to it's release

Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 5d

😂😂😂😂 OMG I should of clarified! 0.7 is amazing! Our Saturation Score is inverted because it measures how saturated the market is around a game. So your game has been scored as super unique! Low score = fewer competitors. Didn't mean for it to sound bad 😅

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 6d

You can find more outliers using your Outlier leaderboard, check it our here 👉 www.game-oracle.com/leaderboards...

#gamedev #indiegamedev #indiegames

The Outlier List | Game Oracle

Celebrate the most unique games on Steam with The Outlier List where indie game developers ditch trends & let their imaginations lead the way.

www.game-oracle.com

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 6d

Age of the Deep scores 0.7/10 on our Saturation Score & currently has ~1K wishlists according to our estimates. I think it is simply the setting that makes this one unique, there are not many #RPG that let you explore the deep blue as a mermaid, the only other one on our radar is Sirens #gamedev

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 6d

Week 3/10 of my #outliergames series for #wishlistwednesday - let's talk about Age of the Deep by @willdavis.bsky.social & co. A looter RPG where you play as a mermaid 🧜‍♀️what more is there to say! store.steampowered.com/app/2997030/...

Age of the Deep on Steam

Age of the Deep is a mermaid fashion looter rpg. Explore the beautiful, and terrifying, mysteries of the ocean surrounding the islands, fight off pirates that threaten the inhabitants, dive deep to un...

store.steampowered.com

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 6d

Bit of shameless self promotion here, but we're doing data analysis for indie game devs, our latest video: youtu.be/BA-roTecK3Q?...

You Might Not Need Thousands of Steam Wishlists

YouTube video by Game Oracle

youtu.be

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 7d

We made a Game Engine leaderboard (www.game-oracle.com/leaderboards...) - thanks @igdb.com for the data ❤️ - and ranking by SteamDB score is fascinating. Top 5: Telltale Tool, SCUMM, Visionaire, KiriKiri, KEX (caveat: not all games disclose their engine, so bare that in mind) #gamedev

Game Engine Leaderboard | Game Oracle

Compare the best and most popular game engines with our leaderboards to find the right game engine for your project.

www.game-oracle.com

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 11d

Have you heard of the DreadOut series? 3rd person #horror game set in an Asian - Indonesian setting. Thing is, none of its direct competitors have managed to hit the same mark. Missed opportunity? 👀 #gamedev #sologamedev #indiegamedev

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 13d

And stay up-to-date all things Game Oracle by subscribing to our free monthly newsletter
#gamedev #sologamedev #indiegamedev

www.game-oracle.com/newsletter

Monthly Newsletter | Game Oracle

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for exclusive Steam insights, upcoming games forecasts, Steamworks news and Game Oracle updates.

www.game-oracle.com

Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 13d

Trading Card Inspector currently has ~1K wishlists (we estimate) so head over to Steam and show it some love! store.steampowered.com/app/3723750/...

Trading Card Inspector on Steam

Inspect your way through dozens of unique, hilarious cards in this chilled-out papers-please-em-up! Identify and appraise cards from The World's Most Coolest TCG! Start your new job as an official Hab...

store.steampowered.com

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 13d

Trading Card Inspector features a deep narrative, intertwining quality control duties with a comedic yet dark narrative of corporate espionage, friendship, and murder, where players make choices and uncover secrets within the "Habubis Corporation." #gamedev #indiegames

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 13d

This is my #outliergames series where I highlight unique and quirky games coming soon. How do we know they're unique? Well with our Saturation Score ofc! Wtf is a Saturation Score? Well we have done some fun maths to measure market saturation, check it our here: www.game-oracle.com/research-too...

Saturation Map | Game Oracle

Visualise & explore the saturation of Steam on our interactive Saturation Map. Find quieter corners or discover opportunities to break through the noise.

www.game-oracle.com

Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 13d

It's #wishlistwednesday & week 2 of my #outliergames series. Today we're talking about Trading Card Inspector by @daydreamgallerydev.bsky.social - in this unique twist on trading card games, you play as a quality control inspector, blending office sim, mystery, & dark humour

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 14d

Interesting #gamedev market gap: shipping logistics simulator. Best performing game in this segment is probably TransOcean – The Shipping Company but there are not many other highlight rated titles despite reasonably player demand. #indiegamedev #sologamedev

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Reposted by Ross Burton

Sam Read-Graves @readgraves.com · 16d

NEW GAME ANNOUNCEMENT!

A Family Friendly, Physics-Fueled FPS Party Game! Over half a million task variations and over 500 unlockable cosmetics and emotes with NO Microtransactions! This is your New Favourite Friendslop!

Play the Playtest on Steam Now!

store.steampowered.com/app/2182680

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 18d

What is this strange cluster hanging off to the side of our Steam Map? Horse Games 🐎 and they perform really well! Hats off to the #gamedev folk that have cracked emulating horse riding tho 😱 no easy feat I bet! #horsegames #gamedev #sologamedev #indiegamedev #indiegames

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 19d

Today we added wishlist-to-download ratios to Game Oracle. We also released an analysis of these ratios on our YT 👉 youtu.be/BA-roTecK3Q?...

#gamedev #sologamedev #indiedev #indiegamedev

You Might Not Need Thousands of Steam Wishlists Before Launch

YouTube video by Game Oracle

youtu.be

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 19d

Game Oracle update 🚀 #gamedev #sologamedev #indiegamedev

Game Oracle @game-oracle.bsky.social · 19d

v3.3.4 is now live 🚀 we just shipped some more exciting updates 💪 & fixed some bugs 🐛
New additions:
- Wishlist-to-Download ratios 🙏
- Steam reviews summary on each games /details page 💬
- Feature summary added to each games /details page 😎
- Updated docs & improved warnings 👏
www.game-oracle.com

Game Oracle | Analyse Gaps in the Game Industry

Make confident game development decisions with Game Oracle's advanced market research tools. Discover industry gaps & analyse competitors to design unique games.

www.game-oracle.com

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Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 19d

Today I'm adding wishlist-to-download conversion estimates to v3.4 of @game-oracle.bsky.social which will be coming soooooooooon 🙌🚀 What else can I crowbar into this release before I can accused of scope creep 👀

Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 20d

You can find and study more #outliergames on Game Oracle using our Steam map and the Game Gap Outlier list or checkout our outlier leaderboard for free 👉 www.game-oracle.com/leaderboards...
#gamedev #sologamedev #indiegamedev

The Outlier List | Game Oracle

Celebrate the most unique games on Steam with The Outlier List where indie game developers ditch trends & let their imaginations lead the way.

www.game-oracle.com

Ross Burton @rossburton.bsky.social · 20d

Frequency Sync currently has ~500 wishlists and needs your #wishlistwednesday support. This unique title looks like it’s going to rock (pun intended!)