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Should I ship a Sci-fi Collectathon game?
Collectathon + Sci-fi
Of 101 developers who shipped a Sci-fi Collectathon 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.. 132 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×293 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 132 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $3.5k (exactly $3,471) |
| Top 5% | $139k (exactly $139,266) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 101 |
| Released games | 247 |
| Announced | 132 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Collectathon
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Sci-fi
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Collectathon; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 5,711 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 132 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Collectathon with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + ManagementFair
- + CrimeFair
- + Level EditorFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SokobanFair
- + MythologyFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Combat RacingFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection | $39.99 | 657 96% | 20k | $788k (exactly $788,203) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Metal Bringer | $19.99 | 1,109 87% | 33k | $665k (exactly $665,067) | ALPHAWING Inc. | |
| | Bubsy 4D | $19.99 | 777 92% | 23k | $466k (exactly $465,967) | Fabraz | |
| | CICADAMATA" | $9.99 | 1,419 96% | 43k | $425k (exactly $425,274) | ✿ flowergarden | |
| | Astronomics | · EA | $19.99 | 706 89% | 21k | $423k (exactly $423,388) | Numizmatic |
| | Starstruck Vagabond | older | $19.99 | 559 86% | 17k | $335k (exactly $335,232) | Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw |
| | Maize | older | $9.99 | 793 88% | 24k | $238k (exactly $237,662) | Finish Line Games |
| | Boti: Byteland Overclocked | older | $19.99 | 295 68% | 8.9k | $177k (exactly $176,912) | Purple Ray Studio |
| | A Planet Full of Cats | $7.99 | 581 89% | 17k | $139k (exactly $139,266) | Devcats | |
| | World's End Club | older | $19.99 | 228 68% | 6.8k | $137k (exactly $136,732) | IzanagiGames, Too Kyo Games, Grounding… (IzanagiGames, Too Kyo Games, Grounding Inc., ESQUADRA,inc.) |
| | ROLLING STAR | $11.99 | 216 96% | 6.5k | $78k (exactly $77,695) | NUL2 STUDIO | |
| | Rusty Seas | $19.99 | 89 100% | 2.7k | $53k (exactly $53,373) | Don't Feed the Wuff | |
| | Panthalassa | $13.99 | 98 97% | 2.9k | $41k (exactly $41,131) | Meia Calça | |
| | Blood Facsimile | · EA | $17.99 | 59 98% | 1.8k | $32k (exactly $31,842) | Rene McCarthy |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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