Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Space Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Sim Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Space Sim

Of 32 developers who shipped a Space Sim Action-Adventure 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.. 90 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $60k, ×96 the market median. Revenue is up 235% on the market; 90 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 235% on the market, 90 announced, ×5.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Space Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $4.5k → $599 → $1.1k → $2.7k → $210 → $479 (still earning) → $5.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Space Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $4.2k (exactly $4,194)
Top 5% $60k (exactly $60,143)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 147
Announced 90
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 235% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Space Sim
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Action-Adventure, Space Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Action, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Retro, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 7,215 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 $540, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $60k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action-Adventure with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair18 devs · median $6.7k · 19 announced
  3. + BikesFair11 devs · median $2.5k · 11 announced
  4. + TransportationFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  5. + MotorbikeFair9 devs · median $2.3k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingLong shot14 devs · median $360 · 16 announced
  7. + Time AttackLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 17 announced
  8. + Character Action GamePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  9. + MMORPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 116 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds49 devs · median $25k · 133 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds81 devs · median $24k · 135 announced
  12. + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $17k · 26 announced

All 242 pairs on the Action-Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Starfield older $49.99 115,202 58% 3.5M $173M (exactly $172,768,439) Bethesda Game Studios
Deliver Us The Moon older $24.99 7,510 87% 225k $5.6M (exactly $5,630,247) KeokeN Interactive
Void Crew $24.99 6,573 86% 197k $4.9M (exactly $4,927,778) Hutlihut Games
Starcom: Unknown Space older $24.99 4,464 92% 134k $3.3M (exactly $3,346,661) Wx3 Labs, LLC
Rebel Galaxy Outlaw older $29.99 942 65% 28k $848k (exactly $847,517) Double Damage Games
Galaxy on Fire 2™ Full HD older $7.99 1,479 77% 44k $355k (exactly $354,516) Fishlabs Entertainment GmbH
Star Command Galaxies older $12.99 363 41% 11k $141k (exactly $141,461) Warballoon
Landinar: Into the Void older $19.99 234 55% 7.0k $140k (exactly $140,330) Convoy Games
Power of Ten older $11.99 248 79% 7.4k $89k (exactly $89,206) Pew Times Three
Lodestar older $29.99 69 69% 2.1k $62k (exactly $62,079) Edenic Era LLC
Legendary Pilots $8.99 223 66% 6.7k $60k (exactly $60,143) BerkBox
Jitter · EA $9.99 165 84% 5.0k $49k (exactly $49,450) Berko Games
Quantum Void $11.99 69 95% 2.1k $25k (exactly $24,819) TacNours
Don't Crash $4.99 68 98% 2.0k $10k (exactly $10,180) Override Studio
Astrophobia $2.99 61 77% 1.8k $5.5k (exactly $5,472) CosmicArcade
Into the M.A.W. $14.99 11 100% 330 $4.9k (exactly $4,947) Moonrise Studios
Artemis Cosmos $6.99 20 70% 600 $4.2k (exactly $4,194) Incandescent Workshop LLC
Max Savage $9.99 12 75% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Tim Rachor
Starfield Battlegrounds $6.99 13 69% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) 谭浩翔

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