Do I ship it?

Games › 6DOF › 6DOF + Exploration

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Exploration 6DOF game?

6DOF + Exploration

Of 78 developers who shipped an Exploration 6DOF 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.. 147 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×378 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 147 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 147 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
6DOF + Exploration
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 78
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.3k → $2.4k → $3.1k → $600 → $2.4k → $719 → $1.4k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 6DOF + Exploration: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 78
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $750 (exactly $750)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 5% $238k (exactly $237,541)
Developers, 2 yr 78
Released games 291
Announced 147
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.49

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 up 85% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

6DOF
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Exploration
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
6DOF, Exploration; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Physics
Price point
$7.49 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 6,249 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $750, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $230k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 147 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

6DOF with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RoguelikeFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  2. + TacticalFair14 devs · median $2.4k · 19 announced
  3. + RobotsFair10 devs · median $2.2k · 12 announced
  4. + WarFair11 devs · median $1.8k · 10 announced
  5. + Dark FantasyFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $958 · 39 announced
  7. + RhythmPoor odds12 devs · median $11k · 9 announced
  8. + CyberpunkPoor odds8 devs · median $9.6k · 17 announced
  9. + MilitaryPoor odds10 devs · median $7.6k · 17 announced
  10. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds12 devs · median $6.5k · 15 announced
  11. + RomancePoor odds13 devs · median $3.6k · 8 announced
  12. + SandboxPoor odds32 devs · median $3.6k · 69 announced

All 90 pairs on the 6DOF page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

CarX Street 2024 · $11M EVERSPACE™ 2017 · $5.9M Uncrashed : FPV Drone Simulator 2021 · $3.5M Metro Awakening 2024 · $2.7M TRYP FPV: Drone Racer Simulator 2022 · EA · $1.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
CarX Street older $19.99 17,600 72% 528k $11M (exactly $10,554,720) CarX Technologies, LLC
EVERSPACE™ older $19.99 9,809 77% 294k $5.9M (exactly $5,882,457) ROCKFISH Games
Uncrashed : FPV Drone Simulator older $14.99 7,770 95% 233k $3.5M (exactly $3,494,169) Luminite
Metro Awakening $29.99 3,013 73% 90k $2.7M (exactly $2,710,796) Vertigo Games
TRYP FPV: Drone Racer Simulator · EA older $16.99 3,155 85% 95k $1.6M (exactly $1,608,103) UNDEAD BATTERY
Bootstrap Island $24.99 1,362 81% 41k $1.0M (exactly $1,021,091) Maru VR
Hubris older $29.99 819 74% 25k $737k (exactly $736,854) Cyborn B.V.
Kayak VR: Mirage older $22.99 1,006 82% 30k $694k (exactly $693,838) Better Than Life
Red Matter 2 older $29.99 673 92% 20k $605k (exactly $605,498) Vertical Robot
PANELKI older $7.99 2,404 86% 72k $576k (exactly $576,239) Alexander Gromyko
I Am Cat $19.99 526 68% 16k $315k (exactly $315,442) NEW FOLDER GAMES
Captain Hardcore · EA $39.99 198 80% 5.9k $238k (exactly $237,541) AntiZero Games
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow $19.99 340 75% 10k $204k (exactly $203,898) Maze Theory
Virtual Hunter $24.99 173 71% 5.2k $130k (exactly $129,698) Korpi Games Oy
Real VR Fishing $19.99 184 73% 5.5k $110k (exactly $110,345) Devs United Games, Inc
Forest Doesn’t Care $13.99 251 65% 7.5k $105k (exactly $105,345) MOROZ GAMES
Penguin Lifter $4.99 125 88% 3.8k $19k (exactly $18,712) Peace_Studio, DonCorsaire
LiveStream: Chapter One $7.00 77 89% 2.3k $16k (exactly $16,170) Artflux_Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.