Do I ship it?

Games › 6DOF › 6DOF + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle 6DOF game?

6DOF + Puzzle

Of 45 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 57 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $4.7k, ×7.6 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 57 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 57 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
6DOF + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $239 → $1.3k → $899 → $600 → $450 → $838 (still earning) → $179 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 6DOF + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $600 (exactly $600)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,799)
Top 5% $4.8k (exactly $4,798)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 193
Announced 57
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 115% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
6DOF, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Logic
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with VR, First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 170 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $600, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $4.7k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. Nearly all of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

Red Matter 2 2022 · $605k Eye of the Temple 2021 · $235k Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs 2019 · $191k Disassembly VR 2019 · $141k Maskmaker 2021 · $76k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Red Matter 2 older $29.99 673 92% 20k $605k (exactly $605,498) Vertical Robot
Eye of the Temple older $19.99 392 92% 12k $235k (exactly $235,082) Rune Skovbo Johansen
Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs older $19.99 318 89% 9.5k $191k (exactly $190,705) Resolution Games
Disassembly VR older $29.99 157 59% 4.7k $141k (exactly $141,253) Khor Chin Heong
Maskmaker older $9.99 254 93% 7.6k $76k (exactly $76,124) InnerspaceVR
A Fisherman's Tale 2 older $14.99 166 84% 5.0k $75k (exactly $74,650) InnerspaceVR
Floor Plan 2 VR older $29.99 75 90% 2.3k $67k (exactly $67,478) Turbo Button
The Tale of Onogoro older $34.99 48 79% 1.4k $50k (exactly $50,386) AMATA Games
The Secret of Retropolis older $9.99 162 92% 4.9k $49k (exactly $48,551) Peanut Button
Unplugged older $19.99 74 66% 2.2k $44k (exactly $44,378) Anotherway
LiveStream: Chapter One $7.00 77 89% 2.3k $16k (exactly $16,170) Artflux_Games
Human Within $19.99 19 52% 570 $11k (exactly $11,394) Signal Space Lab, Actrio Studio
Another Door: Escape Room $19.99 8 87% 240 $4.8k (exactly $4,798) SKONEC Entertainment, YOUCANSTAR
SKY LEGENDS - An Aeropostal Epic $24.99 5 60% 150 $3.7k (exactly $3,748) SUPER AC
GHOST CAM $10.99 10 90% 300 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) ARCH REBELS
Family Friends: Beyond Home $7.99 13 30% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) eroverse
Phantom Asylum VR · EA $9.99 8 75% 240 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) SRVR
Doggy Up! $3.99 20 90% 600 $2.4k (exactly $2,394) Feas
Horror Simulator VR $14.99 5 80% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) Suplife Games
CINESCAPE VR $14.99 5 60% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) SUPER AC

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