Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Spaceships

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Spaceship Arcade game?

Arcade + Spaceships

Of 32 developers who shipped a Spaceship 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.. 24 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 19 developers shipped in the last year and 24 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 24 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Spaceships
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $59 → $5.4k → $539 → $1.4k → $538 → $60 (still earning) → $2.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Spaceships: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 5% $26k (exactly $26,255)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 91
Announced 24
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 10% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Spaceships
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Arcade; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Shoot 'Em Up
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,738 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $26k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Arcade with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Chorus 2021 · $2.9M Reality Break 2025 · $512k Psycho Starship Rampage 2015 · $38k Deep Space Cache 2024 · $26k Astral Gunners 2024 · $22k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chorus older $24.99 3,876 81% 116k $2.9M (exactly $2,905,837) Deep Silver Fishlabs
Reality Break $24.99 683 80% 20k $512k (exactly $512,045) Element Games, LLC
Psycho Starship Rampage older $9.99 128 83% 3.8k $38k (exactly $38,362) Ballistic Frogs
Deep Space Cache $0.99 884 90% 27k $26k (exactly $26,255) Monu
Astral Gunners older $19.99 36 100% 1.1k $22k (exactly $21,589) Sati Bros
XIIZEAL older $11.99 59 88% 1.8k $21k (exactly $21,222) TRIANGLE SERVICE
Curved Space older $19.99 24 95% 720 $14k (exactly $14,393) Only By Midnight Ltd.
Space Otter Charlie older $14.99 30 96% 900 $13k (exactly $13,491) Wayward Distractions
Emerald Blue $9.99 43 100% 1.3k $13k (exactly $12,887) Emerald Blue Team
Terra Flame older $14.99 27 96% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) TERARIN GAMES
SUPERVERSE $9.99 37 70% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,089) Superverse Industries
Pixel Orbit $3.99 32 75% 960 $3.8k (exactly $3,830) YaxWorks
VectaGuard $12.99 6 100% 180 $2.3k (exactly $2,338) RetroNinja
My Idle Space Cruiser $2.99 24 83% 720 $2.2k (exactly $2,153) Minicactus Games
Space Defender · EA $9.99 6 100% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) Petit Vaisseau
Stellar Industrialist $2.99 18 88% 540 $1.6k (exactly $1,615) PcZ Games
Timeloop Titans $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) LapaGames

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.