Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Combat game?

Combat + Dystopian

Of 118 developers who shipped a Dystopian Combat 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.. 358 more are announced, ×5.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $780k, ×1252 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 358 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 358 announced, ×5.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 118
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $8.1k → $629 → $2.2k → $1.5k → $719 → $3.1k (still earning) → $390 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 118
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,617)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $18,887)
Top 5% $786k (exactly $786,188)
Developers, 2 yr 118
Released games 343
Announced 358
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 95% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 112,822 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $780k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 68 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 358 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Stellar Blade™ 2025 · $110M BioShock Infinite 2013 · $99M AI LIMIT 2025 · $24M Cronos: The New Dawn 2025 · $14M Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst 2020 · $8.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stellar Blade™ $59.99 61,289 93% 1.8M $110M (exactly $110,301,813) SHIFT UP Corporation
BioShock Infinite older $29.99 109,718 93% 3.3M $99M (exactly $98,713,285) Irrational Games, Virtual Programming (… (Irrational Games, Virtual Programming (Linux))
AI LIMIT $34.99 22,833 92% 685k $24M (exactly $23,967,800) Sense Games
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst older $19.99 14,078 79% 422k $8.4M (exactly $8,442,577) DICE
Crysis 2 Remastered older $29.99 9,034 89% 271k $8.1M (exactly $8,127,890) Crytek, Saber Interactive
Crysis 3 Remastered older $29.99 7,731 88% 232k $7.0M (exactly $6,955,581) Crytek, Saber Interactive
Ghosts of Tabor · EA older $24.99 9,140 70% 274k $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) Combat Waffle Studios
REPLACED $19.99 9,130 84% 274k $5.5M (exactly $5,475,261) Sad Cat Studios
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Forefront $27.99 1,913 84% 57k $1.6M (exactly $1,606,346) Triangle Factory
Metal Garden $5.99 4,375 96% 131k $786k (exactly $786,188) Tinerasoft
Pronoun Palace $19.84 1,249 99% 37k $743k (exactly $743,405) Cadence Petersen, Hazel Fackler
Arizona Sunshine® VR Remake $19.99 1,203 88% 36k $721k (exactly $721,439) Vertigo Games
Touhou Dystopian $9.99 2,161 97% 65k $648k (exactly $647,652) Kay Lnk
Out of Action · EA $19.99 916 77% 27k $549k (exactly $549,325) Doku Games LTD

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