Games › Arcade › Arcade + Mechs
Should I ship a Mech Arcade game?
Arcade + Mechs
Of 48 developers who shipped a Mech 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.. 83 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.6k, ×7.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $660; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×680 the market median. Revenue is up 210% on the market; 83 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $659 (exactly $659) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.6k (exactly $4,585) |
| Top 25% | $54k (exactly $53,552) |
| Top 5% | $427k (exactly $427,215) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 48 |
| Released games | 192 |
| Announced | 83 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 210% on the market, supply 30% more developers than 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
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Arcade; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 10,032 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $660. 7 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 83 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 2024 · $11M 
Vanquish 2017 · $4.2M 
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program 2026 · $1.2M 
LEFT ALIVE™ 2019 · $1.1M 
Vox Machinae 2022 · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 | older | $59.99 | 6,225 69% | 187k | $11M (exactly $11,203,132) | SANDLOT |
| | Vanquish | older | $19.99 | 6,974 89% | 209k | $4.2M (exactly $4,182,308) | PlatinumGames, Little Stone Software |
| | R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program | $14.99 | 2,727 76% | 82k | $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) | WarmCore Studio | |
| | LEFT ALIVE™ | older | $59.99 | 622 31% | 19k | $1.1M (exactly $1,119,413) | Square Enix |
| | Vox Machinae | older | $29.99 | 1,177 87% | 35k | $1.1M (exactly $1,058,947) | Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation |
 | Instruments of Destruction | older | $19.99 | 1,429 91% | 43k | $857k (exactly $856,971) | Radiangames |
 | Astebreed: Definitive Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,272 87% | 38k | $763k (exactly $762,818) | Edelweiss |
 | Last Call BBS | older | $19.99 | 1,220 94% | 37k | $732k (exactly $731,634) | Zachtronics |
 | Cavalry Girls | older | $11.99 | 1,877 88% | 56k | $675k (exactly $675,157) | 中子星游戏研究所 |
 | UFO ROBOT GRENDIZER – The Feast of the Wolves | older | $39.99 | 559 84% | 17k | $671k (exactly $670,632) | Endroad |
 | TerraTech Legion | $9.99 | 2,109 81% | 63k | $632k (exactly $632,067) | Payload Studios | |
 | Guns of Fury | $14.99 | 950 88% | 29k | $427k (exactly $427,215) | Gelato Games Ltd | |
 | Nitro Express | $12.99 | 1,069 75% | 32k | $417k (exactly $416,589) | Grayfax Software | |
 | Iron Saga VS | $29.99 | 376 79% | 11k | $338k (exactly $338,287) | Gameduchy | |
 | Vital Shell | $5.99 | 1,752 96% | 53k | $315k (exactly $314,834) | MarvinWizard | |
 | MUSYNX:RETURN | $19.99 | 284 74% | 8.5k | $170k (exactly $170,315) | I-Inferno | |
 | YOU ARE THE MONSTER | · EA | $9.99 | 488 69% | 15k | $146k (exactly $146,254) | Joshua Hughes |
 | DoDonPachi Resurrection Reignite | $24.99 | 158 42% | 4.7k | $118k (exactly $118,453) | CAVE Interactive CO., LTD. | |
 | Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening | $24.99 | 119 77% | 3.6k | $89k (exactly $89,214) | Magic Pockets |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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