Do I ship it?

GamesMetroidvaniaMetroidvania + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cyberpunk Metroidvania?

Metroidvania + Cyberpunk

Of 26 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk Metroidvania 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.. 80 more are announced, ×6.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $9.4k, ×15 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $610k, ×972 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 80 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 15.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 80 announced, ×6.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Metroidvania + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $34k → $32k → $5.4k → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Metroidvania + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $9.4k (exactly $9,444)
Top 25% $41k (exactly $41,379)
Top 5% $611k (exactly $610,693)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 73
Announced 80
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 down 55% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Metroidvania
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Cyberpunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Metroidvania; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Platformer
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, 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 87% positive over 4,636 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $9.4k, 1 in 4 over $41k, 1 in 20 over $610k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 6 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + ParkourPoor odds8 devs · median $80k · 40 announced
  2. + Online Co-OpPoor odds12 devs · median $74k · 15 announced
  3. + CraftingPoor odds10 devs · median $34k · 61 announced
  4. + SimulationPoor odds16 devs · median $32k · 35 announced
  5. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $28k · 29 announced
  6. + CollectathonPoor odds30 devs · median $16k · 78 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 33 announced
  8. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $14k · 46 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds102 devs · median $14k · 335 announced
  10. + VampiresPoor odds16 devs · median $14k · 29 announced
  11. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $14k · 42 announced
  12. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $12k · 37 announced

All 90 pairs on the Metroidvania page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ICEY older $10.99 25,142 89% 754k $8.3M (exactly $8,289,317) FantaBlade Network
Axiom Verge older $19.99 5,834 90% 175k $3.5M (exactly $3,498,650) Thomas Happ Games LLC
Dex older $19.99 2,908 86% 87k $1.7M (exactly $1,743,928) Dreadlocks Ltd.
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster $29.99 1,803 87% 54k $1.6M (exactly $1,622,159) Nightdive Studios, Looking Glass Studio… (Nightdive Studios, Looking Glass Studios, Irrational Games)
STRIDER™ / ストライダー飛竜® older $14.99 2,167 83% 65k $975k (exactly $974,500) Double Helix Games, Capcom
Gori: Cuddly Carnage older $21.99 1,434 96% 43k $946k (exactly $946,010) Angry Demon Studio
The Fall older $9.99 2,794 87% 84k $837k (exactly $837,362) Over The Moon
Cyber Shadow older $19.99 1,294 83% 39k $776k (exactly $776,012) Aarne "MekaSkull" Hunziker
Ghost 1.0 older $12.99 1,918 90% 58k $747k (exactly $747,445) @unepic_fran
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Haydee 3 $29.99 321 84% 9.6k $289k (exactly $288,804) Haydee Interactive
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
INAYAH - Life after Gods $15.99 230 71% 6.9k $110k (exactly $110,331) Exogenesis Studios
Voltage High Society $19.99 144 92% 4.3k $86k (exactly $86,357) Platonic Partnership
Anima Flux $19.99 69 78% 2.1k $41k (exactly $41,379) Avantaj Prim
Alruna and the Necro-Industrialists $9.99 113 84% 3.4k $34k (exactly $33,866) Neckbolt
Welcome to Planet E1d0r4d0! $8.99 119 68% 3.6k $32k (exactly $32,094) LuluGames
Lustful Victor $14.99 49 61% 1.5k $22k (exactly $22,035) NeonByteStudio

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