Games › 3D Fighter › 3D Fighter + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi 3D Fighter?
3D Fighter + Sci-fi
Of 52 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 3D Fighter in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 89 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 29 developers shipped in the last year and 89 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $89 (exactly $89) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $3.1k (exactly $3,120) |
| Top 5% | $109k (exactly $108,726) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 52 |
| Released games | 202 |
| Announced | 89 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 20% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 27%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 3D Fighter
- effort 7 / 10 · low · 3D hit volumes plus the fighting-game tuning load
- Sci-fi
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- 3D Fighter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.00 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.00 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,840 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 89 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
3D Fighter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ManagementFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Choose Your Own AdventureLong shot
- + RhythmLong shot
- + CollectathonLong shot
- + ModernLong shot
- + SimulationLong shot
- + FightingPoor odds
- + WrestlingPoor odds
- + Life SimPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
ELDERBORN 2020 · $1.0M 
Galaxy on Fire 2™ Full HD 2012 · $355k 
Inquisitor’s Heart and Soul 2025 · $247k 
Spirit X Strike 2025 · EA · $158k 
Blood Crawler 2025 · $109k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ELDERBORN | older | $14.99 | 2,229 87% | 67k | $1.0M (exactly $1,002,381) | Hyperstrange |
| | Galaxy on Fire 2™ Full HD | older | $7.99 | 1,479 77% | 44k | $355k (exactly $354,516) | Fishlabs Entertainment GmbH |
| | Inquisitor’s Heart and Soul | $12.99 | 635 80% | 19k | $247k (exactly $247,460) | Whale Rock Games | |
| | Spirit X Strike | · EA | $12.99 | 406 82% | 12k | $158k (exactly $158,218) | MAICHA STUDIO |
| | Blood Crawler | $12.99 | 279 76% | 8.4k | $109k (exactly $108,726) | c3アート | |
 | Hell Division | older | $13.99 | 191 83% | 5.7k | $80k (exactly $80,163) | Quacky Games |
 | The Wraith of the Galaxy | · EA older | $11.99 | 161 81% | 4.8k | $58k (exactly $57,912) | Whale Rock Games |
 | Cyberpunk SFX | $9.99 | 183 83% | 5.5k | $55k (exactly $54,845) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | Liuyin's world | $18.99 | 79 89% | 2.4k | $45k (exactly $45,006) | kingnagame | |
 | Age of Gladiators II: Death League | older | $12.99 | 84 71% | 2.5k | $33k (exactly $32,735) | Creative Storm Entertainment |
 | AI-deal-Rays [General Edition] | $5.99 | 112 58% | 3.4k | $20k (exactly $20,126) | Riez-ON | |
 | Dynasty Protocol | $17.99 | 36 63% | 1.1k | $19k (exactly $19,429) | Ellipses Studios | |
 | FLAW | · EA | $15.00 | 36 77% | 1.1k | $16k (exactly $16,200) | Plasmeo |
 | Steel Knight's ARMIS | $9.99 | 40 57% | 1.2k | $12k (exactly $11,988) | Izanami Game Lab, Inc., FORCES | |
 | Wasteland with Robots | $9.99 | 34 94% | 1.0k | $10k (exactly $10,190) | Gamesforgames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.