Games › 4 Player Local › 4 Player Local + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi 4 Player Local game?
4 Player Local + Sci-fi
Of 34 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 4 Player Local game 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.. 86 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $26k, ×56 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 86 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) |
| Top 5% | $27k (exactly $26,632) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 188 |
| Announced | 86 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 4 Player Local
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Sci-fi
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- 4 Player Local; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Arcade, Action, Local Co-Op
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 457 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 86 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
4 Player Local with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Open WorldFair
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + CatsFair
- + RhythmFair
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + Football (Soccer)Poor odds
- + Beat 'em upPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + TriviaPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
Comparable games
HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition 2015 · $15M 
Distance 2018 · $4.4M 
GRIP: Combat Racing 2018 · $3.3M 
SpiderHeck 2022 · $1.8M 
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime 2015 · $1.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition | older | $19.99 | 25,663 90% | 770k | $15M (exactly $15,390,101) | Arrowhead Game Studios |
| | Distance | older | $24.99 | 5,832 93% | 175k | $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) | Refract |
| | GRIP: Combat Racing | older | $29.99 | 3,669 86% | 110k | $3.3M (exactly $3,300,999) | Caged Element |
| | SpiderHeck | older | $14.99 | 3,922 93% | 118k | $1.8M (exactly $1,763,723) | Neverjam |
| | Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime | older | $14.99 | 3,368 93% | 101k | $1.5M (exactly $1,514,590) | Asteroid Base |
 | HARDCORE MECHA | older | $19.99 | 2,331 83% | 70k | $1.4M (exactly $1,397,901) | RocketPunch Games |
 | DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours | older | $49.99 | 717 82% | 22k | $1.1M (exactly $1,075,285) | Pyramid |
 | Out of Space | older | $14.99 | 2,003 79% | 60k | $901k (exactly $900,749) | Behold Studios |
 | Assault Android Cactus+ | older | $19.99 | 1,325 94% | 40k | $795k (exactly $794,602) | Witch Beam |
 | Aero GPX | · EA older | $19.99 | 747 97% | 22k | $448k (exactly $447,976) | Aaron McDevitt |
 | Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age | $19.99 | 145 91% | 4.4k | $87k (exactly $86,956) | Maximum Entertainment | |
 | This Is No Cave | $6.99 | 127 96% | 3.8k | $27k (exactly $26,632) | monome.studio | |
 | Servonauts | $14.99 | 39 87% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,538) | MAXART Games | |
 | SUPERVERSE | $9.99 | 37 70% | 1.1k | $11k (exactly $11,089) | Superverse Industries | |
 | Galactic Thunderdome | $9.99 | 35 100% | 1.1k | $10k (exactly $10,490) | Pansimula | |
 | Bugscraper | $9.99 | 28 96% | 840 | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) | Yolwoocle, OLX, Verbaudet, Ninesliced | |
 | It’s Quiz Time: GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ 2026 Edition | $29.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $7.2k (exactly $7,198) | Snap Finger Click | |
 | Forehead Chip | $9.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | Naturally Intelligent | |
 | Pulsar Crash | $14.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) | Little Doctor Games | |
 | Zone 6 | $11.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.6k (exactly $3,597) | Ullbors |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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