Should I ship an Alien Loot game?
Loot + Aliens
Of 24 developers who shipped an Alien Loot 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.. 50 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×501 the market median. Revenue is up 865% on the market; 50 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
| Top 25% | $42k (exactly $41,822) |
| Top 5% | $315k (exactly $314,842) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 54 |
| Announced | 50 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 865% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Loot; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Procedural Generation, Crafting
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 2,510 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Loot with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds
- + Local Co-OpStrong odds
- + SteampunkStrong odds
- + CapitalismFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + JRPGFair
- + EconomyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + CatsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Prophecy 2019 · $2.2M 
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded 2009 · $377k 
Down with the Ship 2026 · EA · $367k 
Sword of the Stars: The Pit 2013 · $339k 
Project L33T: Founders Edition 2026 · $315k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Prophecy | older | $24.99 | 2,884 79% | 87k | $2.2M (exactly $2,162,135) | NeocoreGames |
| | Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded | older | $4.99 | 2,517 92% | 76k | $377k (exactly $376,795) | Sigma Team Inc. |
| | Down with the Ship | · EA | $14.99 | 817 93% | 25k | $367k (exactly $367,405) | Iron Anchor Games |
| | Sword of the Stars: The Pit | older | $9.99 | 1,132 83% | 34k | $339k (exactly $339,260) | Kerberos Productions |
| | Project L33T: Founders Edition | $19.99 | 525 47% | 16k | $315k (exactly $314,842) | Targetpoint Interactive, Holmgard Games | |
 | UNDERWARD | $9.99 | 593 73% | 18k | $178k (exactly $177,722) | INTENSE | |
 | Space Scavenger | older | $12.99 | 289 86% | 8.7k | $113k (exactly $112,623) | Red Cabin Games |
 | Void Scrappers | older | $3.99 | 571 89% | 17k | $68k (exactly $68,349) | 8BitSkull |
 | Arms Evolution: ZOMBIE DESTROYER | older | $5.99 | 268 64% | 8.0k | $48k (exactly $48,160) | Ash Game Studio |
 | Warspace 2 | $17.99 | 83 59% | 2.5k | $45k (exactly $44,795) | Magic Game Art | |
 | Void Marauders | $13.99 | 106 77% | 3.2k | $44k (exactly $44,488) | Autarca | |
 | Vortica | $14.99 | 93 83% | 2.8k | $42k (exactly $41,822) | Vortical Studios | |
 | Future War Tactics: SOF vs Alien Invasion – Turn-Based Strategy | $9.99 | 138 60% | 4.1k | $41k (exactly $41,359) | QuadCom Interactive | |
 | Sporbs | $4.99 | 92 78% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $13,772) | Who Nose Studios | |
 | Idle Stellar | $4.99 | 45 60% | 1.4k | $6.7k (exactly $6,736) | Noody Games | |
 | Void Scout | $11.99 | 18 83% | 540 | $6.5k (exactly $6,475) | Adversity Games Ltd. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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