Games › Arcade › Arcade + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian Arcade game?
Arcade + Dystopian
Of 102 developers who shipped a Dystopian Arcade 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.. 184 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $420, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×347 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 184 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $419 (exactly $419) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) |
| Top 5% | $165k (exactly $164,803) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 102 |
| Released games | 288 |
| Announced | 184 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 170% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, 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
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Arcade; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Score Attack
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Retro, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 8,821 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 184 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
HUNTDOWN 2021 · $2.4M 
Screamer 2026 · $1.9M 
Denshattack! 2026 · $1.7M 
Rollerdrome 2022 · $1.3M 
VHOLUME 2026 · $718k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | HUNTDOWN | older | $19.99 | 4,059 94% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) | Easy Trigger Games |
| | Screamer | $59.99 | 1,039 80% | 31k | $1.9M (exactly $1,869,888) | Milestone S.r.l. | |
| | Denshattack! | $19.99 | 2,910 98% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) | Undercoders | |
| | Rollerdrome | older | $29.99 | 1,486 91% | 45k | $1.3M (exactly $1,336,954) | Roll7 |
| | VHOLUME | $8.00 | 2,992 97% | 90k | $718k (exactly $718,080) | Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels… (Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin) | |
 | Pacer | older | $39.99 | 576 72% | 17k | $691k (exactly $691,027) | R8 Games Ltd |
 | Cavalry Girls | older | $11.99 | 1,877 88% | 56k | $675k (exactly $675,157) | 中子星游戏研究所 |
 | Super Blood Hockey | older | $14.99 | 902 91% | 27k | $406k (exactly $405,629) | Loren Lemcke |
 | Slave Zero X | older | $24.99 | 438 75% | 13k | $328k (exactly $328,369) | Poppy Works |
 | The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors | older | $19.99 | 430 92% | 13k | $258k (exactly $257,871) | Winning Entertainment Group Inc. |
 | G-Rebels | · EA | $29.99 | 254 79% | 7.6k | $229k (exactly $228,524) | Reakktor Studios |
 | Neon Inferno | $19.99 | 378 92% | 11k | $227k (exactly $226,687) | Zenovia Interactive | |
 | Double Dragon Revive | $34.99 | 157 63% | 4.7k | $165k (exactly $164,803) | YUKE’S | |
 | XF Extreme Formula | $11.99 | 366 90% | 11k | $132k (exactly $131,650) | Feperd Games | |
 | Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age | $19.99 | 145 91% | 4.4k | $87k (exactly $86,956) | Maximum Entertainment | |
 | Retrowave 2 | $4.99 | 449 88% | 13k | $67k (exactly $67,215) | RewindApp | |
 | Deep Space Exploitation | $8.99 | 131 96% | 3.9k | $35k (exactly $35,331) | JuhrJuhr |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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