Do I ship it?

Games › Battle Royale › Battle Royale + PvE

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Battle Royale?

Battle Royale + PvE

Of 37 developers who shipped a PvE Battle Royale 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.. 90 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 10 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $330 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 10 / 10 build. 19 developers shipped in the last year and 90 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 90 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Battle Royale + PvE
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $29k → $2.1k → $9.2k → $359 → $449 → $150 → $599 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Battle Royale + PvE: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $330 (exactly $330)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 5% $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 136
Announced 90
Effort 10 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 75% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 35%, 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
PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
10 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Battle Royale, PvE; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvP, Online Co-Op
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 56% positive over 34,284 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $330, 1 in 4 over $1.2k, 1 in 20 over $9.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 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

Mistfall Hunter 2026 · $12M SAND: Raiders of Sophie 2026 · EA · $9.4M Wildgate 2025 · $4.5M Deceive Inc. 2023 · $2.9M Contractors Showdown : ExfilZone 2024 · $2.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mistfall Hunter $24.99 16,045 53% 481k $12M (exactly $12,028,936) Bellring Games
SAND: Raiders of Sophie · EA $24.99 12,485 49% 375k $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) Hologryph, TowerHaus
Wildgate $29.99 5,032 77% 151k $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) Moonshot Games
Deceive Inc. older $19.99 4,755 84% 143k $2.9M (exactly $2,851,574) Sweet Bandits Studios
Contractors Showdown : ExfilZone older $19.99 3,353 68% 101k $2.0M (exactly $2,010,794) Caveman Studio
SUPER BOMBERMAN R 2 older $49.99 149 53% 4.5k $223k (exactly $223,455) KONAMI
SUPER BOMBERMAN COLLECTION $19.99 294 87% 8.8k $176k (exactly $176,312) RED ART GAMES
TOUHOU SKY ARENA MATSURI CLIMAX older $19.99 200 86% 6.0k $120k (exactly $119,940) AREAZERO
Iron Core: Mech Survivor $6.99 352 73% 11k $74k (exactly $73,814) Soda Game Studio
The Wraith of the Galaxy · EA older $11.99 161 81% 4.8k $58k (exactly $57,912) Whale Rock Games
Touhou Brawl $11.99 39 51% 1.2k $14k (exactly $14,028) FIVE DUCK GAMES
run for money Hunter vs. Runner! Which side will you win!? $29.99 5 80% 150 $4.5k (exactly $4,498) INFINITY Co., Ltd.
Adventurer's Gambit: Dungeons of Fortune $12.99 11 81% 330 $4.3k (exactly $4,287) Astana Games
CRAST $5.99 14 35% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Qazaq Games Studio
TactiCats $5.99 7 100% 210 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) HungryDingo

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