Games › Exploration › Exploration + Dragons
Should I ship a Dragon Exploration game?
Exploration + Dragons
Of 78 developers who shipped a Dragon 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.. 174 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×5.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $5.3M, ×8445 the market median. Revenue is up 145% on the market; 174 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $958 (exactly $958) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.1k (exactly $3,144) |
| Top 25% | $40k (exactly $39,580) |
| Top 5% | $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 78 |
| Released games | 258 |
| Announced | 174 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 up 145% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, 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
- Dragons
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Exploration; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Open World
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 156,212 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $960. 8 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 174 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 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
Crimson Desert Enhanced 2026 · $242M 
Lords of the Fallen 2023 · $34M 
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen 2016 · $34M 
RuneScape: Dragonwilds 2026 · $25M 
WILD HEARTS™ 2023 · $22M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Crimson Desert Enhanced | $69.99 | 115,056 83% | 3.5M | $242M (exactly $241,583,083) | Pearl Abyss | |
| | Lords of the Fallen | older | $29.99 | 37,902 68% | 1.1M | $34M (exactly $34,100,429) | CI Games |
| | Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen | older | $29.99 | 37,437 88% | 1.1M | $34M (exactly $33,682,069) | Capcom |
| | RuneScape: Dragonwilds | $29.99 | 28,071 81% | 842k | $25M (exactly $25,255,479) | Jagex Ltd | |
| | WILD HEARTS™ | older | $69.99 | 10,626 48% | 319k | $22M (exactly $22,311,412) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR | older | $59.99 | 9,129 74% | 274k | $16M (exactly $16,429,461) | Bethesda Game Studios |
 | Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin | older | $39.99 | 11,845 82% | 355k | $14M (exactly $14,210,446) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection | $69.99 | 5,605 77% | 168k | $12M (exactly $11,768,818) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | Word Game | older | $34.99 | 5,930 93% | 178k | $6.2M (exactly $6,224,721) | Team9 |
 | Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma | $59.99 | 2,947 88% | 88k | $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716) | Marvelous Inc. | |
 | The Nameless: Slay Dragon | $17.99 | 2,050 91% | 62k | $1.1M (exactly $1,106,385) | The Nameless Epic | |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | Elemental: Reforged | $29.99 | 478 73% | 14k | $430k (exactly $430,057) | Stardock Entertainment | |
 | The RPG | $14.99 | 769 86% | 23k | $346k (exactly $345,819) | Dionysus Acroreites | |
 | Ancient Kingdoms | · EA | $15.99 | 473 86% | 14k | $227k (exactly $226,898) | Ancient Pixels |
 | Beloved Rapture | $19.99 | 237 82% | 7.1k | $142k (exactly $142,129) | Rapturous Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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