Do I ship it?

GamesChoices MatterChoices Matter + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech Choices Matter game?

Choices Matter + Mechs

Only 15 developers shipped a Mech Choices Matter game 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, The Forever Winter, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×5.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $19M, ×30624 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 28 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 28 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Choices Matter + Mechs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $359 → $64k → $2.5k → $49k
Outcomes for Choices Matter + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $480 (exactly $480)
Median $3.5k (exactly $3,506)
Top 25% $64k (exactly $64,136)
Top 5% $19M (exactly $19,231,987)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 37
Announced 28
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 85% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Choices Matter
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Mechs
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Choices Matter
Price point
$8.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 23,072 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $3.5k, 1 in 4 over $64k, 1 in 20 over $19M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 4 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds108 devs · median $58k · 91 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair18 devs · median $4.7k · 15 announced
  3. + SportsFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced
  4. + RhythmFair36 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced
  5. + Hidden ObjectFair261 devs · median $802 · 273 announced
  6. + TriviaFair26 devs · median $599 · 30 announced
  7. + Board GameFair119 devs · median $479 · 150 announced
  8. + RacingFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  9. + ChessFair19 devs · median $419 · 20 announced
  10. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  11. + RomePoor odds10 devs · median $160k · 19 announced
  12. + World War IPoor odds10 devs · median $57k · 19 announced

All 243 pairs on the Choices Matter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Forever Winter · EA $29.99 21,376 68% 641k $19M (exactly $19,231,987) Fun Dog Studios
Baldr Sky older $49.99 1,524 93% 46k $2.3M (exactly $2,285,543) Sekai Project
LEFT ALIVE™ older $59.99 622 31% 19k $1.1M (exactly $1,119,413) Square Enix
ROBOTICS;NOTES ELITE older $34.99 698 90% 21k $733k (exactly $732,691) MAGES. Inc.
Mech Armada older $19.99 653 81% 20k $392k (exactly $391,604) Lioncode Games
Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog $14.99 843 90% 25k $379k (exactly $379,097) Space Colony Studios
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos older $29.99 379 95% 11k $341k (exactly $340,986) MyDearest Inc.
Heaven Will Be Mine older $14.99 709 92% 21k $319k (exactly $318,837) Pillow Fight, Worst Girls Games
BE-A Walker older $9.99 651 72% 20k $195k (exactly $195,105) Tequilabyte Studio
9th Sentinel Sisters $7.99 273 69% 8.2k $65k (exactly $65,438) Live Wire
Mech Academy $9.99 214 91% 6.4k $64k (exactly $64,136) Space Samurai Studio
Bonaparte - A Mechanized Revolution $24.99 72 68% 2.2k $54k (exactly $53,978) Studio Imugi
Slyders $9.99 162 85% 4.9k $49k (exactly $48,551) Kato Games
Genesis Survivors · EA $4.99 107 69% 3.2k $16k (exactly $16,018) Aeternum Game Studios S.L
Starbug Troopers : The 4 horseflies of the apocalypse $8.99 13 84% 390 $3.5k (exactly $3,506) Big Loot Games
Triptych Book I: Blockhead · EA $13.99 6 66% 180 $2.5k (exactly $2,518) Mords, Tootsie
STEEL SERAPHIM: PROVING GROUNDS $6.99 6 100% 180 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) TYPE THREE INDUSTRIES

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