Do I ship it?

GamesBattle RoyaleBattle Royale + Open World

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Open World Battle Royale?

Battle Royale + Open World

Only 13 developers shipped an Open World 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.. 46 more are announced, ×5.8 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. 8 developers shipped in the last year and 46 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 46 announced, ×5.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Battle Royale + Open World
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $178 → $478 → $239 → $1.2k → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Battle Royale + Open World: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $480 (exactly $480)
Top 25% $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 5% $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 90
Announced 46
Effort 10 / 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 down 25% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 32%, 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
Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
10 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Battle Royale, Open World
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 49% positive over 12,595 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $480, 1 in 4 over $1.1k, 1 in 20 over $9.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.8 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
Battlefield™ V older $49.99 236,709 70% 7.1M $355M (exactly $354,992,487) DICE
Hunt: Showdown 1896 older $29.99 213,023 74% 6.4M $192M (exactly $191,656,793) Crytek
SAND: Raiders of Sophie · EA $24.99 12,485 49% 375k $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) Hologryph, TowerHaus
Blazing Sails older $14.99 8,361 87% 251k $3.8M (exactly $3,759,942) Get Up Games, Iceberg Interactive
武侠乂 The Swordsmen X older $24.99 2,415 46% 72k $1.8M (exactly $1,810,526) 上海杜昂网络科技有限公司
Down To One older $4.99 1,606 35% 48k $240k (exactly $240,418) Gadget Games
Out of Reach: Treasure Royale older $14.99 337 58% 10k $152k (exactly $151,549) Space Boat Studios
GangV | VR & PC Battle Royale · EA older $14.99 337 60% 10k $152k (exactly $151,549) raptor lab
Hashiriya Drifter-Online Drift Racing Multiplayer (DRIFT/DRAG/RACING) older $1.99 1,337 68% 40k $80k (exactly $79,819) Midnight Games
Egress older $14.99 107 58% 3.2k $48k (exactly $48,118) Fazan
Vienkiemis · EA $12.99 44 100% 1.3k $17k (exactly $17,147) dssob, SMEIVIS
CRAST $5.99 14 35% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Qazaq Games Studio
Archipelago: Island Survival $9.99 4 25% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) FrostFire
Hentai USSR $0.99 39 87% 1.2k $1.2k (exactly $1,158) Who We Are Games
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
Forbidden zone $4.99 3 0% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Karuna
DudeGo $0.99 2 50% 60 $59 (exactly $59) FussyCraft

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