Do I ship it?

Games › PvP › PvP + Asynchronous Multiplayer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvP Asynchronous Multiplayer game?

PvP + Asynchronous Multiplayer

Of 94 developers who shipped a PvP Asynchronous Multiplayer 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.. 217 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $7.2k, ×4.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×293 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 217 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.8 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 217 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvP + Asynchronous Multiplayer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 94
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $55k → $300 → $599 → $1.3k → $16k → $11k → $4.1k (still earning) → $7.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvP + Asynchronous Multiplayer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 94
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $7.2k (exactly $7,193)
Top 25% $60k (exactly $59,810)
Top 5% $438k (exactly $438,458)
Developers, 2 yr 94
Released games 269
Announced 217
Effort 8 / 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 flat on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 31%, 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.

PvP
effort 8 / 10 · low · authoritative servers, latency compensation, cheating
Asynchronous Multiplayer
effort 5 / 10 · low · a backend with accounts and persistent turns

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
PvP, Asynchronous Multiplayer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Auto Battler, Card Battler
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 52,915 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $7.2k, 1 in 4 over $59k, 1 in 20 over $430k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 217 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + BaseballFair6 devs · median $7.6k · 9 announced
  2. + TransportationFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + BasketballFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  4. + Football (American)Fair17 devs · median $1.8k · 12 announced
  5. + BikesFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  6. + GolfFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  7. + World War IFair12 devs · median $1.3k · 14 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair36 devs · median $1.2k · 48 announced
  9. + BilliardsFair18 devs · median $1.1k · 12 announced
  10. + TennisLong shot17 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  11. + TypingLong shot28 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  12. + SpellingLong shot14 devs · median $719 · 17 announced

All 247 pairs on the PvP page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Halloween: The Game 2026 · $14M The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2023 · $8.9M Backpack Battles 2025 · $8.5M Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector 2021 · $6.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Halloween: The Game $39.99 11,868 68% 356k $14M (exactly $14,238,040) IllFonic
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre older $14.99 19,731 68% 592k $8.9M (exactly $8,873,031) Sumo Digital
Backpack Battles $14.99 18,933 91% 568k $8.5M (exactly $8,514,170) PlayWithFurcifer
Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector older $39.99 5,064 88% 152k $6.1M (exactly $6,075,281) Slitherine Ltd.
Turmoil older $12.99 13,154 92% 395k $5.1M (exactly $5,126,114) Gamious
Axis & Allies 1942 Online older $19.99 4,810 78% 144k $2.9M (exactly $2,884,557) Beamdog
Deceive Inc. older $19.99 4,755 84% 143k $2.9M (exactly $2,851,574) Sweet Bandits Studios
Dominions 6 - Rise of the Pantokrator older $44.99 1,686 90% 51k $2.3M (exactly $2,275,594) Illwinter Game Design
Root older $14.99 5,049 90% 151k $2.3M (exactly $2,270,535) Dire Wolf
Oaken Tower · EA $9.99 3,024 89% 91k $906k (exactly $906,293) Bocary Studios
Ark Nova $22.99 825 94% 25k $569k (exactly $569,002) Dire Wolf
Wretch: Divine Ascent $14.99 975 75% 29k $438k (exactly $438,458) Ogopogo
Down with the Ship · EA $14.99 817 93% 25k $367k (exactly $367,405) Iron Anchor Games
Disc Golf Masters · EA $24.99 427 83% 13k $320k (exactly $320,122) Spinoff Games
Backpack Jianghu $13.99 565 80% 17k $237k (exactly $237,130) 背包工作室
Toy Smash Kaboom! $13.99 550 84% 17k $231k (exactly $230,835) Free Particle

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