Do I ship it?

GamesDestructionDestruction + Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fantasy Destruction game?

Destruction + Fantasy

Of 34 developers who shipped a Fantasy Destruction game 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.. 110 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 110 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 per shipper, while revenue is down 10% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 110 announced, ×5.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Destruction + Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $89 → $29k → $719 → $2.2k → $719 → $1.9k → $359 (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Destruction + Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,695)
Top 5% $714k (exactly $713,643)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 140
Announced 110
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 10% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

Destruction
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Fantasy
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Destruction; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 3,005 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $360, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $710k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 110 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Space SimFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 22 announced
  2. + ModernFair26 devs · median $1.6k · 28 announced
  3. + God GameFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair9 devs · median $719 · 14 announced
  5. + Hack and SlashPoor odds19 devs · median $43k · 57 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds15 devs · median $26k · 22 announced
  7. + CapitalismPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 46 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds37 devs · median $13k · 102 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds50 devs · median $11k · 113 announced
  10. + Automobile SimPoor odds22 devs · median $9.0k · 44 announced
  11. + ManagementPoor odds36 devs · median $6.1k · 129 announced
  12. + AutomationPoor odds22 devs · median $6.0k · 46 announced

All 139 pairs on the Destruction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Total War: THREE KINGDOMS older $39.99 63,110 82% 1.9M $76M (exactly $75,713,067) CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (M… (CREATIVE ASSEMBLY, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
WorldBox - God Simulator · EA older $19.99 51,071 95% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,627,279) Maxim Karpenko
Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition older $39.99 4,820 69% 145k $5.8M (exactly $5,782,554) Flying Wild Hog
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin older $59.99 1,867 55% 56k $3.4M (exactly $3,360,040) Frontier Developments
DEEEER Simulator: Your Average Everyday Deer Game older $14.99 4,443 92% 133k $2.0M (exactly $1,998,017) Gibier Games
Spirit Island older $24.99 1,545 91% 46k $1.2M (exactly $1,158,286) Handelabra Games Inc.
9 Days older $14.99 2,198 72% 66k $988k (exactly $988,441) MVR
DAVIGO: VR vs. PC · EA older $24.99 1,200 84% 36k $900k (exactly $899,640) Davigo Studio
The Scouring · EA $24.99 1,136 88% 34k $852k (exactly $851,659) Orc Group
Conan Unconquered older $19.99 1,203 70% 36k $721k (exactly $721,439) Petroglyph
Lay of the Land $19.99 1,190 79% 36k $714k (exactly $713,643) Southern Cross Interactive
DYSPLACED · EA $24.99 296 87% 8.9k $222k (exactly $221,911) 10tons Ltd
Wartorn $34.99 130 73% 3.9k $136k (exactly $136,461) Stray Kite Studios
Chest Buster $4.99 159 92% 4.8k $24k (exactly $23,802) D-Pad
ARKOS 2 $12.99 34 91% 1.0k $13k (exactly $13,250) RetroSouls
War of Wheels · EA $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Dreambits Studio
Spire Blast $6.99 17 100% 510 $3.6k (exactly $3,565) Orbital Knight
Edge of Destruction $4.99 18 77% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,695) Surin
Castle Crumble $6.99 12 91% 360 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Orbital Knight

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