Do I ship it?

Games › Destruction › Destruction + Loot

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Loot Destruction game?

Destruction + Loot

Of 26 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 64 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×1136 the market median. Revenue is up 445% on the market; 64 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 445% on the market, 64 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Destruction + Loot
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: $449 → $479 → $899 → $539 → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Destruction + Loot: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $33,010)
Top 5% $714k (exactly $713,643)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 64
Announced 64
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 up 445% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Loot
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
Destruction, Loot; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Idler
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Colorful, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 9,621 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $900, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $710k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Destruction with a different second tag, 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

Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition 2026 · $7.0M DYSMANTLE 2021 · $6.6M DRAGON BALL: THE BREAKERS 2022 · $4.5M Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Prophecy 2019 · $2.2M Lay of the Land 2026 · $714k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition $39.99 5,855 86% 176k $7.0M (exactly $7,024,244) Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
DYSMANTLE older $19.99 11,022 91% 331k $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) 10tons Ltd
DRAGON BALL: THE BREAKERS older $29.99 4,983 50% 149k $4.5M (exactly $4,483,205) Dimps Corporation
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Prophecy older $24.99 2,884 79% 87k $2.2M (exactly $2,162,135) NeocoreGames
Lay of the Land $19.99 1,190 79% 36k $714k (exactly $713,643) Southern Cross Interactive
我在地球修仙有系统 older $14.99 959 70% 29k $431k (exactly $431,262) 红星
Soulash older $14.99 513 69% 15k $231k (exactly $230,696) Artur Smiarowski
Out of Reach: Treasure Royale older $14.99 337 58% 10k $152k (exactly $151,549) Space Boat Studios
Smash Hit Museum $6.99 507 85% 15k $106k (exactly $106,318) InIt Games
Max Manos $5.99 507 92% 15k $91k (exactly $91,108) Max Manos
DigDigDrill $3.99 607 95% 18k $73k (exactly $72,658) Toorai
Siegeturtle $4.99 254 86% 7.6k $38k (exactly $38,024) YYZ Studio
Far Mining $2.99 368 95% 11k $33k (exactly $33,010) LostVolBytes
Max Manos 2 $5.99 143 71% 4.3k $26k (exactly $25,697) Max Manos
Chest Buster $4.99 159 92% 4.8k $24k (exactly $23,802) D-Pad
Rift Miner $7.99 31 93% 930 $7.4k (exactly $7,431) TIDERAFT

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