Should I ship a Dinosaur PvE game?
PvE + Dinosaurs
Of 28 developers who shipped a Dinosaur PvE 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.. 43 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×8.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×696 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 43 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) |
| Top 25% | $73k (exactly $73,163) |
| Top 5% | $437k (exactly $437,181) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 68 |
| Announced | 43 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 10% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Survival Horror
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dark, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 6,594 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
ARK: Survival Ascended 2023 · EA · $144M 
Exoprimal 2023 · $4.6M 
Dinoblade 2026 · $1.5M 
Clawed 2026 · $437k 
Deathground 2025 · EA · $394k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ARK: Survival Ascended | · EA older | $44.99 | 106,761 60% | 3.2M | $144M (exactly $144,095,322) | Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games, In… (Studio Wildcard, Grove Street Games, Instinct Games) |
| | Exoprimal | older | $59.99 | 2,581 76% | 77k | $4.6M (exactly $4,645,026) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Dinoblade | $19.99 | 2,420 90% | 73k | $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274) | Team Spino LLC | |
| | Clawed | $19.99 | 729 52% | 22k | $437k (exactly $437,181) | Flatrock Games | |
| | Deathground | · EA | $14.99 | 877 61% | 26k | $394k (exactly $394,387) | Jaw Drop Games |
 | Prehistoric Hunt | · EA older | $17.99 | 678 84% | 20k | $366k (exactly $365,917) | Antiproto Studios |
 | Super Time Force Ultra | older | $14.99 | 677 90% | 20k | $304k (exactly $304,447) | Capybara Games |
 | Dino Crisis | $9.99 | 947 80% | 28k | $284k (exactly $283,816) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd., GOG.com | |
 | Tamer: King of Dinosaurs | · EA | $24.99 | 347 86% | 10k | $260k (exactly $260,146) | Ride the Lion Studios |
 | Dino Crisis 2 | $9.99 | 709 87% | 21k | $212k (exactly $212,487) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd., GOG.com | |
 | Excidio The Kaiju Simulator | $12.99 | 244 92% | 7.3k | $95k (exactly $95,087) | TokuPop | |
 | Repterra | $19.99 | 122 90% | 3.7k | $73k (exactly $73,163) | Chute Apps | |
 | Primeval | $14.99 | 75 60% | 2.3k | $34k (exactly $33,728) | Exhibyte | |
 | Mesorift Survival | · EA | $7.99 | 124 67% | 3.7k | $30k (exactly $29,723) | Meik.W Interactive |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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