Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech Combat game?

Combat + Mechs

Of 84 developers who shipped a Mech 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.. 145 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $900k, ×1446 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 145 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 145 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Mechs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 84
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $1.4k → $3.1k → $2.6k → $6.9k → $12k → $1.3k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 84
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,158)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $36,426)
Top 5% $908k (exactly $908,173)
Developers, 2 yr 84
Released games 217
Announced 145
Effort 6 / 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 down 75% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
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
Combat; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Character Customization, Strategy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 19,318 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $36k, 1 in 20 over $900k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 145 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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

Titanfall® 2 2020 · $229M ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™ 2023 · $121M MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 2021 · $12M Horizon Zero Dawn™ Remastered 2024 · $10M SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE 2022 · $8.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Titanfall® 2 older $29.99 255,050 95% 7.7M $229M (exactly $229,468,485) Respawn Entertainment
ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™ older $59.99 66,987 91% 2.0M $121M (exactly $120,556,504) FromSoftware, Inc.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries older $29.99 13,347 84% 400k $12M (exactly $12,008,296) Piranha Games Inc.
Horizon Zero Dawn™ Remastered $49.99 6,860 84% 206k $10M (exactly $10,287,942) Guerrilla Games, Nixxes Software
SD GUNDAM BATTLE ALLIANCE older $59.99 4,892 62% 147k $8.8M (exactly $8,804,132) ARTDINK
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion $69.99 1,838 63% 55k $3.9M (exactly $3,859,249) Marvelous Inc.
M.A.S.S. Builder $24.99 3,729 85% 112k $2.8M (exactly $2,795,631) Vermillion Digital
UNDERDOGS older $29.99 2,788 97% 84k $2.5M (exactly $2,508,364) One Hamsa
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II $59.99 669 83% 20k $1.2M (exactly $1,203,999) Nihon Falcom, PH3 GmbH
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM SEED BATTLE DESTINY REMASTERED $39.99 757 77% 23k $908k (exactly $908,173) Bandai Namco Forge Digitals Inc.
Metal Slug Tactics $24.99 1,152 76% 35k $864k (exactly $863,654) Leikir Studio
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
IRON REBELLION $24.99 772 84% 23k $579k (exactly $578,768) Black Beach Studio
Guns of Fury $14.99 950 88% 29k $427k (exactly $427,215) Gelato Games Ltd
Granvir $14.99 842 90% 25k $379k (exactly $378,647) Airborne Games

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