Should I ship a Sci-fi 6DOF game?
6DOF + Sci-fi
Of 42 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 111 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $31k, ×51 the market median. Revenue is up 980% on the market; 111 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) |
| Top 5% | $32k (exactly $31,903) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 201 |
| Announced | 111 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 980% on the market, supply 55% 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.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 6DOF; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Space Sim, Combat
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, VR, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 4,411 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 111 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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
EVERSPACE™ 2017 · $5.9M 
Raw Data 2017 · $2.4M 
Angels Fall First 2026 · $2.1M 
Overload 2018 · $1.5M 
Hubris 2022 · $737k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | EVERSPACE™ | older | $19.99 | 9,809 77% | 294k | $5.9M (exactly $5,882,457) | ROCKFISH Games |
| | Raw Data | older | $39.99 | 2,036 81% | 61k | $2.4M (exactly $2,442,589) | Survios |
| | Angels Fall First | $17.99 | 3,835 81% | 115k | $2.1M (exactly $2,069,749) | Strangely Interactive Ltd | |
| | Overload | older | $29.99 | 1,649 94% | 49k | $1.5M (exactly $1,483,605) | Revival Productions, LLC |
| | Hubris | older | $29.99 | 819 74% | 25k | $737k (exactly $736,854) | Cyborn B.V. |
 | Red Matter 2 | older | $29.99 | 673 92% | 20k | $605k (exactly $605,498) | Vertical Robot |
 | Flight Of Nova | · EA older | $29.99 | 537 93% | 16k | $483k (exactly $483,139) | Aerovery Lab |
 | Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister | older | $19.99 | 596 70% | 18k | $357k (exactly $357,421) | Soul Assembly Ltd |
 | Evochron Legacy SE | older | $24.99 | 415 82% | 12k | $311k (exactly $311,126) | StarWraith 3D Games LLC |
 | Descent | older | $19.99 | 462 96% | 14k | $277k (exactly $277,061) | Parallax |
 | Desecrators | $14.99 | 327 96% | 9.8k | $147k (exactly $147,052) | Woodhound | |
 | Alliance Peacefighter | $18.99 | 56 83% | 1.7k | $32k (exactly $31,903) | Urban Logic Games | |
 | Titan Isles | $24.99 | 40 95% | 1.2k | $30k (exactly $29,988) | Psytec Games Ltd | |
 | IRON GUARD: Salvation | $17.99 | 44 93% | 1.3k | $24k (exactly $23,747) | Xlab Digital | |
 | Spacefleet: Heat Death | · EA | $11.99 | 36 86% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,949) | Spacezero Interactive |
 | Human Within | $19.99 | 19 52% | 570 | $11k (exactly $11,394) | Signal Space Lab, Actrio Studio | |
 | RAGER | $19.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) | Insane Prey | |
 | Wrath and Retribution | $9.99 | 23 91% | 690 | $6.9k (exactly $6,893) | Mad Vulture Games | |
 | Sylph | $12.99 | 15 73% | 450 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | Softmax Foundries |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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