Games › Exploration › Exploration + Dinosaurs
Should I ship a Dinosaur Exploration game?
Exploration + Dinosaurs
Of 56 developers who shipped a Dinosaur Exploration 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.. 86 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×601 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 86 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,993) |
| Top 5% | $377k (exactly $377,211) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 56 |
| Released games | 149 |
| Announced | 86 |
| 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 65% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Dinosaurs
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Exploration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Survival
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 5,113 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 8 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 86 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition 2020 · $144M 
Curious Expedition 2 2021 · $2.3M 
Paleo Pines 2023 · $1.9M 
Tomb Raider: Anniversary 2007 · $1.8M 
Curious Expedition 2016 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition | older | $49.99 | 95,804 87% | 2.9M | $144M (exactly $143,677,259) | Guerrilla |
| | Curious Expedition 2 | older | $19.99 | 3,861 88% | 116k | $2.3M (exactly $2,315,442) | Maschinen-Mensch |
| | Paleo Pines | older | $29.99 | 2,099 83% | 63k | $1.9M (exactly $1,888,470) | Italic Pig |
| | Tomb Raider: Anniversary | older | $8.99 | 6,644 81% | 199k | $1.8M (exactly $1,791,887) | Crystal Dynamics |
| | Curious Expedition | older | $14.99 | 3,951 91% | 119k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,765) | Maschinen-Mensch |
 | Amber Isle | $24.99 | 1,770 82% | 53k | $1.3M (exactly $1,326,969) | Ambertail Games | |
 | Tomb Raider I (1996) | older | $6.99 | 4,039 85% | 121k | $847k (exactly $846,978) | Core Design |
 | FEROCIOUS | $24.99 | 742 63% | 22k | $556k (exactly $556,277) | OMYOG | |
 | ARK Park | older | $39.99 | 417 44% | 13k | $500k (exactly $500,275) | Snail Games |
 | Dinosaur Fossil Hunter | older | $19.99 | 820 77% | 25k | $492k (exactly $491,754) | ▲ Pyramid Games |
 | Primal Planet | $19.99 | 629 88% | 19k | $377k (exactly $377,211) | Seethingswarm | |
 | Dinocop | $14.99 | 737 96% | 22k | $331k (exactly $331,429) | Pieces Games | |
 | Unknown Tapes | $12.99 | 460 80% | 14k | $179k (exactly $179,262) | Traviteam Games | |
 | Dino Path Trail | $14.99 | 197 76% | 5.9k | $89k (exactly $88,591) | Void Pointer | |
 | Dewdrop Dynasty | $11.99 | 233 78% | 7.0k | $84k (exactly $83,810) | Goodgis | |
 | Spirit Animal Survival | $19.99 | 96 62% | 2.9k | $58k (exactly $57,571) | TRUEFX GAMES | |
 | Nocan's Quest: Sex Gold Glory | $9.99 | 167 69% | 5.0k | $50k (exactly $50,050) | Kinky Business Group | |
 | DragonRoad | $19.98 | 82 91% | 2.5k | $49k (exactly $49,151) | XuJie |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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