Do I ship it?

GamesSandboxSandbox + Assassins

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Assassin Sandbox?

Sandbox + Assassins

Only 5 developers shipped an Assassin Sandbox 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, Suit for Hire, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×20 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

Only 1 developer shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.8k against a market of $1.5k. 20 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 20 announced, ×20 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sandbox + Assassins
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 5

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Sandbox + Assassins: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 5
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $17,538)
Top 5% $1.5M (exactly $1,467,371)
Developers, 2 yr 5
Released games 29
Announced 20
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 75% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Sandbox
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Assassins
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Sandbox
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

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 $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 252,680 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $1.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 1 developer who shipped in the last year, ×20 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FightingStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair20 devs · median $224k · 19 announced
  3. + World War IIFair14 devs · median $146k · 13 announced
  4. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $17k · 12 announced
  5. + ProgrammingFair60 devs · median $7.0k · 71 announced
  6. + CatsFair63 devs · median $4.8k · 74 announced
  7. + SportsFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  8. + GamblingFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 42 announced
  10. + Combat RacingFair21 devs · median $1.8k · 26 announced
  11. + Trading Card GameFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  12. + IdlerFair258 devs · median $1.2k · 306 announced

All 233 pairs on the Sandbox page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HITMAN World of Assassination older $29.99 58,655 87% 1.8M $53M (exactly $52,771,904) IO Interactive A/S
Middle-earth™: Shadow of Mordor™ older $19.99 63,815 92% 1.9M $38M (exactly $38,269,856) Monolith Productions
Assassin's Creed 2 older $19.99 57,661 89% 1.7M $35M (exactly $34,579,302) Ubisoft Montreal
Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood older $19.99 24,958 88% 749k $15M (exactly $14,967,313) Ubisoft Montreal
Assassin's Creed® Revelations older $19.99 19,244 83% 577k $12M (exactly $11,540,627) Ubisoft Montreal
Hitman: Blood Money older $9.99 13,642 93% 409k $4.1M (exactly $4,088,507) Io-Interactive A/S
Suit for Hire $14.99 3,263 92% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,467,371) Godmode Interactive
Endorphin Vice · EA older $9.99 3,436 56% 103k $1.0M (exactly $1,029,769) Endorphin Studios
Hitman: Codename 47 older $7.99 4,258 70% 128k $1.0M (exactly $1,020,643) IO Interactive A/S
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin older $8.99 3,748 81% 112k $1.0M (exactly $1,010,836) Io-Interactive A/S
Red Tears: Angola · EA $14.99 39 84% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,538) Arun Haines
Sipssassin $9.99 6 100% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) Simmering Studios
Niut $3.00 2 50% 60 $180 (exactly $180) AF Works ®
Pew Pew Gaem 3 $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) Saem

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