Do I ship it?

GamesSpace SimSpace Sim + 6DOF

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 6DOF Space Sim?

Space Sim + 6DOF

Only 18 developers shipped a 6DOF Space Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Angels Fall First, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 41 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×3296 the market median. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 41 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 41 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Space Sim + 6DOF
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $239 → $7.6k → $3.0k (still earning) → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Space Sim + 6DOF: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $178 (exactly $178)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 25% $6.9k (exactly $6,893)
Top 5% $2.1M (exactly $2,069,749)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 68
Announced 41
Effort 6 / 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 up 100% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Space Sim
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Space Sim, 6DOF; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Flight
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 4,005 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $6.8k, 1 in 20 over $2.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Space Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + DestructionFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 22 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair9 devs · median $3.6k · 12 announced
  3. + Tactical RPGFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 15 announced
  4. + WarFair34 devs · median $1.3k · 42 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorFair16 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  6. + SportsFair8 devs · median $479 · 9 announced
  7. + DiplomacyLong shot7 devs · median $360 · 14 announced
  8. + MilitaryPoor odds18 devs · median $6.3k · 39 announced
  9. + Online Co-OpPoor odds18 devs · median $4.9k · 63 announced
  10. + Strategy RPGPoor odds8 devs · median $4.9k · 21 announced
  11. + SandboxPoor odds86 devs · median $4.6k · 213 announced
  12. + Colony SimPoor odds42 devs · median $4.6k · 91 announced

All 114 pairs on the Space Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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
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
Underspace · EA older $19.99 434 81% 13k $260k (exactly $260,270) Pastaspace Interactive
Freespace 2 older $24.99 310 78% 9.3k $232k (exactly $232,407) Volition Inc
Archean · EA older $19.99 241 87% 7.2k $145k (exactly $144,528) batcholi, FloDKSM
Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War older $19.99 234 77% 7.0k $140k (exactly $140,330) Volition Inc.
Deep Space Battle Simulator older $9.99 358 78% 11k $107k (exactly $107,293) yeswecamp
Space Docker VR older $14.99 143 95% 4.3k $64k (exactly $64,307) Cat Commandos
Alliance Peacefighter $18.99 56 83% 1.7k $32k (exactly $31,903) Urban Logic Games
Spacefleet: Heat Death · EA $11.99 36 86% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,949) Spacezero Interactive
Helicopter Simulator 2025 - Real Flight PC/VR $17.99 14 42% 420 $7.6k (exactly $7,556) Helicopter Simulator
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
A-Spec First Assault $14.99 9 55% 270 $4.0k (exactly $4,047) Digitum Software
Tinker Pilot · EA $24.99 4 100% 120 $3.0k (exactly $2,999) Lluís Garcia Lamora
Journey to Impossible $9.99 9 44% 270 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) JTI Production
Arvoch Alliance SE $14.99 4 75% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) StarWraith 3D Games LLC

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