Should I ship a Fantasy 6DOF game?
6DOF + Fantasy
Of 21 developers who shipped a Fantasy 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.. 41 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $15k, ×24 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 41 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) |
| Top 5% | $15k (exactly $15,109) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 95 |
| Announced | 41 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 70% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 6DOF; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, 3D Platformer
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with VR, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 172 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
6DOF with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelikeFair
- + TacticalFair
- + RobotsFair
- + WarFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RhythmPoor odds
- + CyberpunkPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + Post-apocalypticPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
Comparable games
Walkabout Mini Golf VR 2021 · $2.3M 
Spice&Wolf VR2 2020 · $497k 
Broken Edge 2022 · $267k 
Underspace 2024 · EA · $260k 
Eye of the Temple 2021 · $235k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Walkabout Mini Golf VR | older | $24.99 | 3,094 97% | 93k | $2.3M (exactly $2,319,572) | Mighty Coconut |
| | Spice&Wolf VR2 | older | $24.99 | 663 96% | 20k | $497k (exactly $497,051) | SpicyTails |
| | Broken Edge | older | $14.99 | 593 86% | 18k | $267k (exactly $266,672) | TREBUCHET |
| | Underspace | · EA older | $19.99 | 434 81% | 13k | $260k (exactly $260,270) | Pastaspace Interactive |
| | Eye of the Temple | older | $19.99 | 392 92% | 12k | $235k (exactly $235,082) | Rune Skovbo Johansen |
 | Holodance | older | $19.99 | 201 85% | 6.0k | $121k (exactly $120,540) | narayana games UG |
 | Cook-Out | older | $19.99 | 169 89% | 5.1k | $101k (exactly $101,349) | Resolution Games |
 | Maskmaker | older | $9.99 | 254 93% | 7.6k | $76k (exactly $76,124) | InnerspaceVR |
 | Kizuna AI - Touch the Beat! | older | $34.99 | 65 86% | 2.0k | $68k (exactly $68,230) | Gemdrops, Inc. |
 | The Tale of Onogoro | older | $34.99 | 48 79% | 1.4k | $50k (exactly $50,386) | AMATA Games |
 | Max Mustard | $19.99 | 38 94% | 1.1k | $23k (exactly $22,789) | Toast Interactive | |
 | One More Delve | $13.99 | 36 66% | 1.1k | $15k (exactly $15,109) | ATVR | |
 | Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss | $19.99 | 22 63% | 660 | $13k (exactly $13,193) | Polyarc | |
 | Hop Step Sing! Summer Live 2023 | $29.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $11k (exactly $10,796) | Kodansha, Kodansha VR Lab | |
 | Fantasex Chronicles | $19.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $6.6k (exactly $6,597) | SinVR | |
 | Succubus Sisters and Countdown Sex VR | $14.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) | AhrpuXR | |
 | Shopenkraft's Magic Goods | $14.99 | 4 50% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | Ingenious Studios | |
 | Samsara | $9.99 | 6 50% | 180 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | Narriflux | |
 | Neptune Island | $1.99 | 29 68% | 870 | $1.7k (exactly $1,731) | B0GWALK Labs | |
 | RHYTHMIC | · EA | $9.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) | Polar Studios Robin Kammel |
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.