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Should I ship a Nature Destruction game?
Destruction + Nature
Of 29 developers who shipped a Nature 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $420 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 50 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $418 (exactly $418) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,726) |
| Top 5% | $1.3M (exactly $1,322,568) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 50 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 200% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Nature
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Destruction; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Physics, Exploration, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 16,808 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Destruction with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Space SimFair
- + ModernFair
- + God GameFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Hack and SlashPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + CapitalismPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Automobile SimPoor odds
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | RoadCraft | $39.99 | 13,527 74% | 406k | $16M (exactly $16,228,342) | Saber Interactive | |
| | OUTBRK | · EA older | $34.99 | 3,221 82% | 97k | $3.4M (exactly $3,381,084) | Sublime |
| | Funnel Runners | · EA | $14.99 | 2,941 83% | 88k | $1.3M (exactly $1,322,568) | Supernova Studios LLC |
| | Spirit Island | older | $24.99 | 1,545 91% | 46k | $1.2M (exactly $1,158,286) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
| | Tornado: Research and Rescue | · EA older | $12.99 | 356 85% | 11k | $139k (exactly $138,733) | Sam Kennedy |
| | Terra Firma 2 | · EA | $19.99 | 200 92% | 6.0k | $120k (exactly $119,940) | Working as Intended |
| | LumbearJack | older | $12.99 | 270 95% | 8.1k | $105k (exactly $105,219) | FinalBoss Games |
| | VERGE:Lost chapter | older | $0.99 | 2,874 52% | 86k | $85k (exactly $85,358) | GDNomaD |
| | Turbo Chicken Simulator | · EA older | $14.99 | 41 87% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $18,438) | Balkanware |
| | Dungeon Crusher Kiritan | · EA older | $11.99 | 35 91% | 1.1k | $13k (exactly $12,590) | Akamurasaki Games |
| | Backyard Digger | $7.99 | 44 86% | 1.3k | $11k (exactly $10,547) | Milord | |
| | A Game About Breaking Pots | $5.99 | 27 100% | 810 | $4.9k (exactly $4,852) | Glenn Verheij | |
| | Grind Rush | $15.99 | 9 66% | 270 | $4.3k (exactly $4,317) | AND GEAR | |
| | Breakout Season | $4.99 | 19 84% | 570 | $2.8k (exactly $2,844) | Kakaos Collective | |
| | Chopping Together🌲 | $6.99 | 13 69% | 390 | $2.7k (exactly $2,726) | Limey Studio | |
| | SUBMERSIBLE | $8.99 | 10 80% | 300 | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) | CJB Games | |
| | Scurry | $4.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) | Identical Forest |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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