Games › Open World Survival Craft › Open World Survival Craft + Aliens
Should I ship an Alien Open World Survival Craft?
Open World Survival Craft + Aliens
Only 5 developers shipped an Alien Open World Survival Craft 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, Abiotic Factor, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 17 more are announced, ×5.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.
Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $15k against a market of $1.3k. 17 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $15k (exactly $14,572) |
|---|---|
| Median | $15k (exactly $14,992) |
| Top 25% | $46k (exactly $45,577) |
| Top 5% | $44M (exactly $44,166,128) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 5 |
| Released games | 32 |
| Announced | 17 |
| Effort | 9 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $19.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Open World Survival Craft
- effort 9 / 10 · low · dedicated multiplayer servers over a huge content build
- Aliens
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 9 / 10 · studio only
- Systems
- Open World Survival Craft
- Price point
- $19.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 569,771 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $15k. 17 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Open World Survival Craft with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + AutomationFair
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Immersive SimPoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + MedievalPoor odds
- + ShooterPoor odds
- + PvPPoor odds
- + Sci-fiPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Subnautica 2018 · $307M 
Subnautica: Below Zero 2021 · $89M 
The Planet Crafter 2024 · $50M 
Abiotic Factor 2025 · $44M 
Breathedge 2021 · $11M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Subnautica | older | $29.99 | 341,390 97% | 10M | $307M (exactly $307,148,583) | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
| | Subnautica: Below Zero | older | $29.99 | 99,384 90% | 3.0M | $89M (exactly $89,415,785) | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
| | 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 | |
| | Breathedge | older | $24.99 | 14,697 82% | 441k | $11M (exactly $11,018,341) | RedRuins Softworks |
 | Starsand | older | $19.99 | 806 69% | 24k | $483k (exactly $483,358) | Tunnel Vision Studio |
 | Signs of Life | · EA older | $14.99 | 713 76% | 21k | $321k (exactly $320,636) | Sweet Dog Studios |
 | Road to Eden | · EA older | $19.99 | 341 62% | 10k | $204k (exactly $204,498) | Zouking |
 | Andarilho | older | $4.99 | 1,204 66% | 36k | $180k (exactly $180,239) | SC Jogos |
 | Vortex: The Gateway | older | $7.99 | 306 53% | 9.2k | $73k (exactly $73,348) | StormCube Games |
 | ASTROBOTANICA | · EA | $19.99 | 76 59% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $45,577) | Space Goblin Studio |
 | Hiraeth | · EA | $19.99 | 25 64% | 750 | $15k (exactly $14,992) | Jade Horse |
 | Alien Apocalypse | · EA | $17.99 | 27 48% | 810 | $15k (exactly $14,572) | Umbu Games |
 | Flying Universe | $9.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $300 (exactly $300) | Gold Orange Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.