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Should I ship an Alien Immersive Sim?
Immersive Sim + Aliens
Of 42 developers who shipped an Alien Immersive Sim 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.. 73 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360. 73 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper, while revenue is down 60% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $358 (exactly $358) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $10,912) |
| Top 5% | $48k (exactly $48,323) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 92 |
| Announced | 73 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Immersive Sim
- effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
- Aliens
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Immersive Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Simulation
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 42,831 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Immersive Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Trading Card GameStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + WesternStrong odds
- + BoxingStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Split ScreenFair
Comparable games
The Planet Crafter 2024 · $50M 
Abiotic Factor 2025 · $44M 
Prey 2017 · $34M 
Lightracer Spark 2023 · $378k 
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead 2023 · $322k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Planet Crafter | older | $23.99 | 68,855 96% | 2.1M | $50M (exactly $49,554,944) | Miju Games |
| | Abiotic Factor | $34.99 | 42,075 95% | 1.3M | $44M (exactly $44,166,128) | Deep Field Games | |
| | Prey | older | $29.99 | 37,759 90% | 1.1M | $34M (exactly $33,971,772) | Arkane Studios |
| | Lightracer Spark | older | $12.99 | 970 83% | 29k | $378k (exactly $378,009) | Smartmelon Games |
| | Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead | older | $19.99 | 537 86% | 16k | $322k (exactly $322,039) | CleverRaven |
 | Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity® | older | $9.99 | 687 78% | 21k | $206k (exactly $205,894) | Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment) |
 | The Voidness - Lidar Horror Survival Game | older | $11.99 | 238 78% | 7.1k | $86k (exactly $85,609) | Steelkrill Studio |
 | Newton's Fourth Law | · EA | $11.99 | 224 93% | 6.7k | $81k (exactly $80,573) | Newtonian Studios |
 | PRODUCER 2021 | older | $9.99 | 164 100% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $49,151) | Stuffed Wombat, ThorHighHeels |
 | Alien Market Simulator | $12.99 | 124 83% | 3.7k | $48k (exactly $48,323) | Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainme… (Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainment) | |
 | Night of The Black Goat | $19.99 | 55 83% | 1.7k | $33k (exactly $32,984) | サークルREN | |
 | Space Control | $17.99 | 52 96% | 1.6k | $28k (exactly $28,064) | MoonMonster Studios | |
 | These Darker Tides | $7.99 | 76 90% | 2.3k | $18k (exactly $18,217) | Pixel Drip Games | |
 | Niktophobia | $7.99 | 63 66% | 1.9k | $15k (exactly $15,101) | OldYacht | |
 | Hiraeth | · EA | $19.99 | 25 64% | 750 | $15k (exactly $14,992) | Jade Horse |
 | Bioframe Outpost | $12.99 | 30 96% | 900 | $12k (exactly $11,691) | Omni Systems | |
 | Invasion of The Halloween Fiends | $3.49 | 107 94% | 3.2k | $11k (exactly $11,203) | MyGrandfather Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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