The Market Research tool in Lumos helps you size opportunities, spot risks, and validate feature ideas before you build.
It gives you data-driven insights into player demand, competition, and future trends across the games market.
Whether you're refining a pitch, designing a new game, or scouting for gaps, Market Research lets you explore real-world signals quickly and easily.
Navigate to Market Research
From the Home page of Lumos, navigate to the left corner to find the Market Research option
Functionality
Pick one or more features: Start by selecting a genre, mechanic, vibe or trope.
Apply filters:
Budget: (Indie, AA, AAA)
Platforms: (PC, Console, Mobile, VR)
Release window: (Specific ranges or all time)
Analyze your segment to understand its opportunity and competition landscape.
Segment Toggles: How + and – work
Search and select any genre, mechanic, vibe or trope; and you can quickly test feature combinations using the toggle buttons:
Click the + or - next to any feature to toggle its state:
Blue Plus (+) = Games must include this feature.
Red Minus (–) = Games must exclude this feature.
Example:
“What games include Driving but exclude Simulation?”
Use + and – combinations to quickly test core ideas or find creative gaps.
Market Research Overview
Market Opportunity
Each segment is assigned a Market Opportunity type based on the number of players and number of games in that space.
Opportunity Type | What It Means |
First Mover Advantage | An emerging market with high potential - some games thrive, but demand is unproven. |
Unstable Growth | A developing market with room for growth, but no clear dominant titles. Some niche games are gaining traction, though player loyalty is uncertain. |
Niche Chaos | A young market with many small games competing, but no major player defining the space. The potential for innovation is high, but reaching critical mass is uncertain. |
Growing but Competitive | The market is gaining momentum, with a few dominant titles leading the way. New games have a chance to succeed, but competition is becoming more intense. |
Competitive & Evolving | The market has multiple strong games, but no absolute leader. New entrants have a chance to disrupt, though competition is increasing. |
Crowded and Volatile | The market is full of games attracting players, but loyalty is low. Many titles compete for attention, making it difficult to secure a lasting player base. |
Dominated by Giants | The market is mature and controlled by a few leading games. New entrants struggle to gain traction unless they bring a major innovation or high production value. |
Highly Competitive Battleground | A packed market with several popular games, but none holding absolute dominance. New entries must fight aggressively for market share. |
Oversaturated & Unstable | The market is overwhelmed with games, and players are spread thin. Securing a loyal player base is difficult, and even successful games risk losing relevance quickly. |
You’ll also see two supporting metrics:
Saturation - Describes how crowded the segment is.
Level | What It Means |
Low Saturation | Few games exist, offering pioneers a chance to dominate, but demand remains uncertain. |
Medium Saturation | The market is growing with a mix of breakout hits and emerging challengers. |
High Saturation | Overcrowded with fierce competition, making entry and survival extremely difficult. |
Fragmentation - Describes the player distribution across the games in the segment.
Level | What It Means |
Low Fragmentation | A few dominant titles control the player base, leaving little room for disruption. |
Medium Fragmentation | Several strong games compete, with players shifting loyalties over time. |
High Fragmentation | The player base is scattered across numerous games, creating chaos and instability. |
Use Opportunity, Saturation, and Fragmentation together to judge how easy or risky it would be to succeed in this space.
Market Size
Shows two quick stats:
Total Players active recently (24-hour window)
Total Games available matching your features
Bigger markets offer more potential players — but often come with more competition too.
Player Trends
A time-based graph showing the number of players across the timeline.
Use trendlines to detect if a feature set is rising, stable, or declining before committing.
Game Complexity Breakdown
Shows the split between:
Core Gamers: Players who prefer deep, complex, longer-session games.
Casual Gamers: Players who prefer quick, easy-to-play experiences.
Design your gameplay flow depending on which group dominates the space.
Top Games and Upcoming Games
Top existing titles within the segment, showing:
Name
Sub-genre
Release date
Estimated revenue
Player count
You can also view upcoming games matching your features to predict future competition.
Feature Composition
Breaks down common tags across the segment:
Genres
Themes
Vibes
Sub-genres
Tropes
Settings
Understand how crowded your planned feature set is — or spot underused combinations.
Game Characteristics
Provides details on the defining characteristics for games in the selected segment with two extra breakdowns:
Graphic Style:
Realistic
Realistic Artistic
Cartoonish
Artistic
2D or 3D
Game Rating:
Age demographic like 7+, 10+, 13+, 15+, 18+
Design art style and tone aligned with what resonates in your target market.
Pro Tips for using Market Research
Look for emerging white spaces: Focus on growing segments with few well-established titles.
Balance ambition and risk: First Movers have big upside but bigger unknowns.
Use filters carefully: Narrowing by platform, budget, or vibe changes the segment story dramatically.
Compare Player Trends + Opportunity Type together: A strong player trend with Niche Opportunity is golden.