Do I ship it?

Games › PvE › PvE + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist PvE game?

PvE + Capitalism

Of 36 developers who shipped a Capitalist PvE 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.. 106 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×4.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×221 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 106 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 106 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $119 → $839 → $76k → $20k → $6.0k → $2.1k (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,967)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,946)
Top 5% $139k (exactly $138,694)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 82
Announced 106
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 20% on the market, supply 100% 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.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
Capitalism
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvP, Simulation
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 16,373 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 6 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 106 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

HELLDIVERS™ 2 2024 · $1.0B Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League 2024 · $27M The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M Turmoil 2016 · $5.1M Pizza Bandit 2025 · EA · $139k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HELLDIVERS™ 2 older $39.99 838,901 76% 25M $1.0B (exactly $1,006,429,530) Arrowhead Game Studios
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League older $69.99 12,718 60% 382k $27M (exactly $26,703,985) Rocksteady Studios
The Bazaar $19.99 14,931 70% 448k $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) Tempo
Turmoil older $12.99 13,154 92% 395k $5.1M (exactly $5,126,114) Gamious
Pizza Bandit · EA $24.99 185 82% 5.6k $139k (exactly $138,694) JOFSOFT
XF Extreme Formula $11.99 366 90% 11k $132k (exactly $131,650) Feperd Games
Picross Fairytale - nonogram: Red Riding Hood secret older $14.99 235 73% 7.1k $106k (exactly $105,680) Somer Games
Katy and Bob: Safari Cafe older $14.99 193 88% 5.8k $87k (exactly $86,792) Creobit, Workroom7
GIRLDIVERS $14.99 181 80% 5.4k $81k (exactly $81,396) Sweet Cakes Games
goblinAmerica · EA $14.99 179 96% 5.4k $80k (exactly $80,496) Gil Lawson
Rentlord $4.99 374 70% 11k $56k (exactly $55,988) verty
Stardust Exile $14.99 44 70% 1.3k $20k (exactly $19,787) Apseren
Retail Rivals $9.99 47 97% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,086) DreamStudios, Madse Studios, Sandstorm… (DreamStudios, Madse Studios, Sandstorm in a Bottle)
Car Factory Empire · EA $8.99 48 56% 1.4k $13k (exactly $12,946) RDS Games
Mercantisle $13.97 18 66% 540 $7.5k (exactly $7,544) Forbidden Oak Games Limited

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