Do I ship it?

GamesOpen WorldOpen World + 6DOF

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 6DOF Open World game?

Open World + 6DOF

Of 35 developers who shipped a 6DOF Open World 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.. 94 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×198 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 94 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 94 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + 6DOF
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $4.1k → $3.6k → $1.8k → $5.7k → $898 → $1.5k (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + 6DOF: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $446 (exactly $446)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,076)
Top 25% $5.8k (exactly $5,846)
Top 5% $296k (exactly $296,252)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 135
Announced 94
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 10% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
6DOF
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Open World, 6DOF; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Exploration, Immersive Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, First-Person, VR
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,433 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $5.8k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 94 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Open World with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu : The Books of Dragon) older $17.99 9,616 81% 288k $5.2M (exactly $5,189,755) 香港商河洛互動娛樂股份有限公司
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
PANELKI older $7.99 2,404 86% 72k $576k (exactly $576,239) Alexander Gromyko
Flight Of Nova · EA older $29.99 537 93% 16k $483k (exactly $483,139) Aerovery Lab
OverDrift Festival older $9.99 1,103 79% 33k $331k (exactly $330,569) OverDrift Crew
Evochron Legacy SE older $24.99 415 82% 12k $311k (exactly $311,126) StarWraith 3D Games LLC
Firehawk: FPV Drone Shooter $19.99 494 91% 15k $296k (exactly $296,252) TruePlayers
Underspace · EA older $19.99 434 81% 13k $260k (exactly $260,270) Pastaspace Interactive
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
Spacefleet: Heat Death · EA $11.99 36 86% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,949) Spacezero Interactive
Drone Simulator VR $13.99 27 96% 810 $11k (exactly $11,332) 0Space
Helicopter Simulator 2025 - Real Flight PC/VR $17.99 14 42% 420 $7.6k (exactly $7,556) Helicopter Simulator
Blood Night · EA $1.99 109 95% 3.3k $6.5k (exactly $6,507) Team
Sylph $12.99 15 73% 450 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Softmax Foundries
Slavic Winter Simulator $9.99 19 52% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Dobry Snegovik Studio, Average Winter E… (Dobry Snegovik Studio, Average Winter Enjoyers)

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