Do I ship it?

GamesActionAction + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Action game?

Action + Steampunk

Of 79 developers who shipped a Steampunk Action 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.. 219 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×4.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $580k, ×927 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 219 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.2 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 219 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 79
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.0k → $23k → $1.6k → $1.7k → $5.8k → $3.1k → $4.5k (still earning) → $959 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 79
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $2.6k (exactly $2,637)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,691)
Top 5% $582k (exactly $581,854)
Developers, 2 yr 79
Released games 334
Announced 219
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 flat on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Steampunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action Roguelike, Adventure
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 33,909 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.6k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $580k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 219 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lies of P older $59.99 58,411 91% 1.8M $105M (exactly $105,122,277) NEOWIZ
BioShock Infinite older $29.99 109,718 93% 3.3M $99M (exactly $98,713,285) Irrational Games, Virtual Programming (… (Irrational Games, Virtual Programming (Linux))
Dishonored 2 older $29.99 42,988 90% 1.3M $39M (exactly $38,676,304) Arkane Studios
BioShock™ Remastered older $19.99 52,500 83% 1.6M $31M (exactly $31,484,250) 2K Boston, 2K Australia, Blind Squirrel… (2K Boston, 2K Australia, Blind Squirrel, Feral Interactive (Mac))
Assassin's Creed® Syndicate older $29.99 31,087 80% 933k $28M (exactly $27,968,974) Ubisoft Quebec, in collaboration with U… (Ubisoft Quebec, in collaboration with Ubisoft Annecy, Bucharest, Kiev, Montreal, Montpellier, Shanghai, Singapore, Sofia, Toronto studios)
Dishonored older $9.99 67,504 97% 2.0M $20M (exactly $20,230,949) Arkane Studios
Torchlight II older $19.99 33,094 92% 993k $20M (exactly $19,846,472) Runic Games
BioShock™ older $19.99 25,188 93% 756k $15M (exactly $15,105,244) 2K Boston, 2K Australia
BioShock™ 2 Remastered older $19.99 24,316 72% 729k $15M (exactly $14,582,305) 2K Marin, 2K China, Digital Extremes, 2… (2K Marin, 2K China, Digital Extremes, 2K Australia, Blind Squirrel, Feral Interactive (Mac))
Torchlight III older $39.99 10,401 47% 312k $12M (exactly $12,478,080) Echtra Inc.
SAND: Raiders of Sophie · EA $24.99 12,485 49% 375k $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) Hologryph, TowerHaus
IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator $19.99 13,278 97% 398k $8.0M (exactly $7,962,817) Nick Nieuwoudt, Dominik Latos
Abyssus $24.99 5,014 84% 150k $3.8M (exactly $3,758,996) DoubleMoose Games
Kristala $39.99 485 71% 15k $582k (exactly $581,854) Astral Clocktower Studios
Castle Of Alchemists $14.99 618 80% 19k $278k (exactly $277,915) Team Machiavelli
Chocolate Factory Simulator $19.99 355 72% 11k $213k (exactly $212,893) Games Incubator
Thick As Thieves $4.99 1,106 65% 33k $166k (exactly $165,568) OtherSide Entertainment
Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age $19.99 145 91% 4.4k $87k (exactly $86,956) Maximum Entertainment
Clockwork Ambrosia $19.99 133 84% 4.0k $80k (exactly $79,760) Realmsoft
Airships: Lost Flotilla $8.99 290 92% 8.7k $78k (exactly $78,213) David Stark

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