Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Cyberpunk
Should I ship a Cyberpunk Sandbox?
Sandbox + Cyberpunk
Of 28 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk Sandbox 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.. 96 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $2.2M, ×3511 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 96 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,197) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $15,295) |
| Top 5% | $2.2M (exactly $2,205,049) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 91 |
| Announced | 96 |
| 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 90% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Building, Procedural Generation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 20,183 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 96 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | RAGE 2 | older | $39.99 | 14,019 64% | 421k | $17M (exactly $16,818,594) | id Software, Avalanche Studios |
| | Shadows of Doubt | $24.99 | 14,646 82% | 439k | $11M (exactly $10,980,106) | ColePowered Games | |
| | Agents of Mayhem | older | $29.99 | 3,270 59% | 98k | $2.9M (exactly $2,942,019) | Deep Silver Volition |
| | UnderRail | older | $14.99 | 6,385 86% | 192k | $2.9M (exactly $2,871,334) | Stygian Software |
| | ZEPHON | $39.99 | 1,838 83% | 55k | $2.2M (exactly $2,205,049) | Proxy Studios | |
| | Ostranauts | $19.99 | 3,137 77% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) | Blue Bottle Games | |
| | Grey Hack | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,801 90% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,080,060) | Loading Home |
| | Hacker Simulator | older | $24.99 | 1,230 74% | 37k | $922k (exactly $922,131) | Save All Studio |
| | EXAPUNKS | older | $19.99 | 1,378 96% | 41k | $826k (exactly $826,387) | Zachtronics |
| | Dystopika | older | $6.99 | 3,413 95% | 102k | $716k (exactly $715,706) | Voids Within |
| | Captain Hardcore | · EA | $39.99 | 198 80% | 5.9k | $238k (exactly $237,541) | AntiZero Games |
| | Quantum Odyssey | · EA | $17.99 | 141 92% | 4.2k | $76k (exactly $76,098) | Quarks Interactive |
| | Elvenfoundry | $34.99 | 46 67% | 1.4k | $48k (exactly $48,286) | SunbathGames | |
| | Globalism | · EA | $29.99 | 17 52% | 510 | $15k (exactly $15,295) | igelanium games |
| | Midnight Moments | $2.99 | 108 92% | 3.2k | $9.7k (exactly $9,688) | Happy Volcano | |
| | Cyberpunk Store Simulator | · EA | $8.99 | 31 90% | 930 | $8.4k (exactly $8,361) | ICON GAME STUDIO |
| | CyberpunkXXX | $9.99 | 21 33% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | GAMERFLEX Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.