Should I ship a Space 6DOF game?
6DOF + Space
Of 37 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 67 more are announced, ×2.7 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 $180; 1 in 20 cleared $230k, ×378 the market median. Revenue is up 1250% on the market; 67 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) |
| Top 5% | $238k (exactly $237,541) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 37 |
| Released games | 152 |
| Announced | 67 |
| 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 1250% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Simulation, Shooter
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with VR, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 4,307 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. All of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 67 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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
| 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 |
| | 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 |
| | 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 |
| | Underspace | · EA older | $19.99 | 434 81% | 13k | $260k (exactly $260,270) | Pastaspace Interactive |
| | Captain Hardcore | · EA | $39.99 | 198 80% | 5.9k | $238k (exactly $237,541) | AntiZero Games |
| | Elvenfoundry | $34.99 | 46 67% | 1.4k | $48k (exactly $48,286) | SunbathGames | |
| | Alliance Peacefighter | $18.99 | 56 83% | 1.7k | $32k (exactly $31,903) | Urban Logic Games | |
| | IRON GUARD: Salvation | $17.99 | 44 93% | 1.3k | $24k (exactly $23,747) | Xlab Digital | |
| | Max Mustard | $19.99 | 38 94% | 1.1k | $23k (exactly $22,789) | Toast Interactive | |
| | Spacefleet: Heat Death | · EA | $11.99 | 36 86% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,949) | Spacezero Interactive |
| | 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.
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.