Do I ship it?

GamesSandboxSandbox + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 96 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sandbox + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $23k → $2.2M → $3.0k → $900 (still earning) → $779 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sandbox + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
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.

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
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
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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $2.2M.

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.

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
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.