Do I ship it?

GamesSandboxSandbox + Conspiracy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Conspiracy Sandbox?

Sandbox + Conspiracy

Only 9 developers shipped a Conspiracy Sandbox 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, Berry Bury Berry, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 43 more are announced, ×8.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×3290 the market median. Revenue is up 5920% on the market; 43 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 5920% on the market, 43 announced, ×8.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sandbox + Conspiracy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Sandbox + Conspiracy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $20,093)
Top 5% $2.1M (exactly $2,065,974)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 30
Announced 43
Effort 6 / 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 5920% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Sandbox
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Conspiracy
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Sandbox
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 116,059 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $600, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $2.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 43 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×8.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FightingStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair20 devs · median $224k · 19 announced
  3. + World War IIFair14 devs · median $146k · 13 announced
  4. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $17k · 12 announced
  5. + ProgrammingFair60 devs · median $7.0k · 71 announced
  6. + CatsFair63 devs · median $4.8k · 74 announced
  7. + SportsFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  8. + GamblingFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 42 announced
  10. + Combat RacingFair21 devs · median $1.8k · 26 announced
  11. + Trading Card GameFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  12. + IdlerFair258 devs · median $1.2k · 306 announced

All 233 pairs on the Sandbox page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Assassin's Creed 2 older $19.99 57,661 89% 1.7M $35M (exactly $34,579,302) Ubisoft Montreal
Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood older $19.99 24,958 88% 749k $15M (exactly $14,967,313) Ubisoft Montreal
Assassin's Creed® Revelations older $19.99 19,244 83% 577k $12M (exactly $11,540,627) Ubisoft Montreal
Berry Bury Berry $7.99 8,619 98% 259k $2.1M (exactly $2,065,974) Get(Color) Games
Squirrel with a Gun older $19.99 3,112 86% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,866,266) Dee Dee Creations LLC
Sigma Theory: Global Cold War older $17.99 892 77% 27k $481k (exactly $481,412) Mi-Clos Studio, Goblinz Studio, FibreTi… (Mi-Clos Studio, Goblinz Studio, FibreTigre)
Project P.I.T.T. $9.99 961 78% 29k $288k (exactly $288,012) Froke
Secret Government older $19.99 249 52% 7.5k $149k (exactly $149,325) GameTrek
I Am Your President older $14.99 263 66% 7.9k $118k (exactly $118,271) President
The Shadow Government Simulator older $9.99 100 75% 3.0k $30k (exactly $29,970) Chupacabra Game Studios
Colony 37 · EA $2.99 224 95% 6.7k $20k (exactly $20,093) Valen
Chicken Strike®: Cluck Ops™ $1.99 14 42% 420 $836 (exactly $836) Bamboléo Games
GET 0UT $9.99 2 50% 60 $599 (exactly $599) ICE9 Games
Dead Frequency $2.35 4 75% 120 $282 (exactly $282) Reverse Revelation
The S.H.O.W. $1.99 2 100% 60 $119 (exactly $119) SGS
Emperor Pigeon - Sandbox $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Emperor Pigeon
Volcano Logistics $5.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) GraveBell

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