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Should I ship a 6DOF Simulation game?
6DOF + Simulation
Of 95 developers who shipped a 6DOF Simulation 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.. 153 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×472 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 153 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $360 (exactly $360) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,499) |
| Top 25% | $8.4k (exactly $8,396) |
| Top 5% | $296k (exactly $296,252) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 95 |
| Released games | 425 |
| Announced | 153 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 20% fewer 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.
- 6DOF
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 6DOF, Simulation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Immersive Sim, Physics, Exploration
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with VR, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 7,723 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 153 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
6DOF with a different second tag, 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
VTOL VR 2017 · $18M 
CarX Street 2024 · $11M 
EVERSPACE™ 2017 · $5.9M 
河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon) 2018 · $5.2M 
Uncrashed : FPV Drone Simulator 2021 · $3.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | VTOL VR | older | $29.99 | 19,885 98% | 597k | $18M (exactly $17,890,534) | Boundless Dynamics, LLC |
| | 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 |
| | 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 |
| | Uncrashed : FPV Drone Simulator | older | $14.99 | 7,770 95% | 233k | $3.5M (exactly $3,494,169) | Luminite |
 | Angels Fall First | $17.99 | 3,835 81% | 115k | $2.1M (exactly $2,069,749) | Strangely Interactive Ltd | |
 | TRYP FPV: Drone Racer Simulator | · EA older | $16.99 | 3,155 85% | 95k | $1.6M (exactly $1,608,103) | UNDEAD BATTERY |
 | VR HOT | · EA older | $44.99 | 998 66% | 30k | $1.3M (exactly $1,347,001) | VR HOT |
 | Bootstrap Island | $24.99 | 1,362 81% | 41k | $1.0M (exactly $1,021,091) | Maru VR | |
 | Kayak VR: Mirage | older | $22.99 | 1,006 82% | 30k | $694k (exactly $693,838) | Better Than Life |
 | Maestro | $24.99 | 543 96% | 16k | $407k (exactly $407,087) | Double Jack | |
 | I Am Cat | $19.99 | 526 68% | 16k | $315k (exactly $315,442) | NEW FOLDER GAMES | |
 | Firehawk: FPV Drone Shooter | $19.99 | 494 91% | 15k | $296k (exactly $296,252) | TruePlayers | |
 | Captain Hardcore | · EA | $39.99 | 198 80% | 5.9k | $238k (exactly $237,541) | AntiZero Games |
 | 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 | |
 | Crime Shop Simulator: A Prison Boss Game | $19.99 | 157 85% | 4.7k | $94k (exactly $94,153) | TREBUCHET |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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