Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cyberpunk Souls-like?

Souls-like + Cyberpunk

Of 20 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk Souls-like 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.. 37 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×1.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $9.2M, ×6183 the market median. Revenue is up 2915% on the market; 37 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 2915% on the market, 37 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $1.2k → $748 → $1.6k → $6.1k → $28k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $446 (exactly $446)
Median $2.6k (exactly $2,637)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $27,695)
Top 5% $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 68
Announced 37
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 2915% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hack and Slash, RPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 14,642 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 $2.6k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $9.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dead as Disco 2026 · EA · $9.3M The Surge 2 2019 · $6.7M The Surge 2017 · $4.1M Anomaly Agent 2024 · $3.4M Death Trash 2021 · EA · $2.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dead as Disco · EA $24.99 12,354 96% 371k $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) Brain Jar Games, Inc.
The Surge 2 older $29.99 7,477 75% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,727,057) Deck13
The Surge older $14.99 9,161 75% 275k $4.1M (exactly $4,119,702) Deck13
Anomaly Agent older $11.99 9,463 94% 284k $3.4M (exactly $3,403,841) Phew Phew Games
Death Trash · EA older $19.99 3,460 91% 104k $2.1M (exactly $2,074,962) Crafting Legends
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
Neon Echo · EA older $14.99 3,514 56% 105k $1.6M (exactly $1,580,246) Xinyuan Studio
Meta Ghost: Breaking Show $17.99 1,497 72% 45k $808k (exactly $807,931) Scarecrow Studio
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes older $24.99 965 75% 29k $723k (exactly $723,460) Still Running
Miss Neko 3 older $2.99 4,470 92% 134k $401k (exactly $400,959) Double W
Katanaut $17.99 484 88% 15k $261k (exactly $261,215) Voidmaw
Liuyin's world $18.99 79 89% 2.4k $45k (exactly $45,006) kingnagame
KILL THE WITCH · EA $10.99 84 77% 2.5k $28k (exactly $27,695) SnakeEagle
Alien Agent X · EA $3.99 71 57% 2.1k $8.5k (exactly $8,499) SGALIEN.Software.US
Quantum Beast $5.99 34 100% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) RaidenV_00
Hovercrafts x Nihilism $6.00 22 86% 660 $4.0k (exactly $3,960) soomr
CODE:VALKYRIE III $19.99 6 66% 180 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) Ulimworks
Coral & The Abyss $7.99 11 100% 330 $2.6k (exactly $2,637) Intrugli Games

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