Do I ship it?

GamesBattle RoyaleBattle Royale + Exploration

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Exploration Battle Royale?

Battle Royale + Exploration

Only 17 developers shipped an Exploration Battle Royale 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, SAND: Raiders of Sophie, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 47 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 10 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 10 / 10 build. 11 developers shipped in the last year and 47 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 120% on the market, 47 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Battle Royale + Exploration
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $210 → $10k → $390 → $0 → $599 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Battle Royale + Exploration: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $480 (exactly $480)
Top 25% $4.3k (exactly $4,315)
Top 5% $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 79
Announced 47
Effort 10 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 120% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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.

Battle Royale
effort 10 / 10 · low · 100-player servers and constant live ops
Exploration
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
10 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Battle Royale, Exploration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hidden Object, Loot
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 49% positive over 12,605 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $480, 1 in 4 over $4.3k, 1 in 20 over $9.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Immersive SimFair13 devs · median $2.4k · 11 announced
  2. + MysteryLong shot12 devs · median $359 · 9 announced
  3. + LootPoor odds9 devs · median $4.3k · 23 announced
  4. + SportsPoor odds18 devs · median $3.8k · 26 announced
  5. + Hero ShooterPoor odds9 devs · median $3.6k · 29 announced
  6. + PuzzlePoor odds14 devs · median $3.2k · 21 announced
  7. + Psychological HorrorPoor odds12 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  8. + Dungeon CrawlerPoor odds14 devs · median $3.2k · 30 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds34 devs · median $1.3k · 89 announced
  10. + SandboxPoor odds7 devs · median $1.2k · 20 announced
  11. + 4 Player LocalPoor odds17 devs · median $898 · 28 announced
  12. + RoguelitePoor odds14 devs · median $748 · 20 announced

All 91 pairs on the Battle Royale page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SAND: Raiders of Sophie · EA $24.99 12,485 49% 375k $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) Hologryph, TowerHaus
TramSim Munich - The Tram Simulator older $34.99 543 67% 16k $570k (exactly $569,987) ViewApp
SUPER BOMBERMAN R 2 older $49.99 149 53% 4.5k $223k (exactly $223,455) KONAMI
Out of Reach: Treasure Royale older $14.99 337 58% 10k $152k (exactly $151,549) Space Boat Studios
Egress older $14.99 107 58% 3.2k $48k (exactly $48,118) Fazan
NIGHT CROW older $15.99 85 68% 2.6k $41k (exactly $40,774) Ge-Aivan
HardPunch: Sex Plague older $11.99 51 41% 1.5k $18k (exactly $18,345) by Cassandra
Huge Jaws older $24.99 23 65% 690 $17k (exactly $17,243) Piece Of Voxel
烧尾宴 $8.99 52 75% 1.6k $14k (exactly $14,024) 有点正经
I Got Trapped in the Succubus's Dream! older $4.99 69 55% 2.1k $10k (exactly $10,329) karaage catapult
Damsels in Distress $8.99 36 83% 1.1k $9.7k (exactly $9,709) Anime Mania
run for money Hunter vs. Runner! Which side will you win!? $29.99 5 80% 150 $4.5k (exactly $4,498) INFINITY Co., Ltd.
CipherMind $7.99 18 77% 540 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Pigeon Games
Archipelago: Island Survival $9.99 4 25% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) FrostFire
OutBreak: The Last Survivor $9.99 2 0% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Briant Entertainment
SurrounDead Poly Construction $15.99 1 100% 30 $480 (exactly $480) LivingEveryday
SurrounDead Poly ‌Japan Sakura · EA $15.99 1 100% 30 $480 (exactly $480) LivingEveryday
Omega Luma : The First Battle $12.99 1 0% 30 $390 (exactly $390) Mavi Game Studios

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