Games › Exploration › Exploration + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian Exploration game?
Exploration + Dystopian
Of 218 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 518 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $470k, ×1010 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 518 games are announced against 117 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,142) |
| Top 5% | $480k (exactly $479,760) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 218 |
| Released games | 584 |
| Announced | 518 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 15% 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.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Dystopian
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 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 $7.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 47,780 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 125 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 518 games are announced against 117 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 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
Stray 2022 · $142M 
Dishonored 2 2016 · $39M 
DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH 2026 · $32M 
Watch Dogs®: Legion 2023 · $21M 
We Happy Few 2018 · $20M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stray | older | $29.99 | 157,579 97% | 4.7M | $142M (exactly $141,773,826) | BlueTwelve Studio |
| | Dishonored 2 | older | $29.99 | 42,988 90% | 1.3M | $39M (exactly $38,676,304) | Arkane Studios |
| | DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH | $69.99 | 15,434 94% | 463k | $32M (exactly $32,406,770) | KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, Nixxes Software | |
| | Watch Dogs®: Legion | older | $59.99 | 11,891 56% | 357k | $21M (exactly $21,400,233) | Ubisoft Toronto |
| | We Happy Few | older | $59.99 | 11,204 76% | 336k | $20M (exactly $20,163,839) | Compulsion Games |
 | Mirror's Edge™ | older | $19.99 | 31,195 87% | 936k | $19M (exactly $18,707,642) | DICE |
 | The Outer Worlds 2 | $69.99 | 8,450 73% | 254k | $18M (exactly $17,742,465) | Obsidian Entertainment | |
 | Road 96 🛣️ | older | $19.96 | 22,118 91% | 664k | $13M (exactly $13,244,258) | Digixart |
 | Ghosts of Tabor | · EA older | $24.99 | 9,140 70% | 274k | $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) | Combat Waffle Studios |
 | DYSMANTLE | older | $19.99 | 11,022 91% | 331k | $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) | 10tons Ltd |
 | KARMA: The Dark World | $24.99 | 3,963 90% | 119k | $3.0M (exactly $2,971,061) | POLLARD STUDIO LLC | |
 | Peripeteia | · EA | $24.99 | 3,120 86% | 94k | $2.3M (exactly $2,339,064) | Ninth Exodus |
 | Crisol: Theater of Idols | $17.99 | 4,103 85% | 123k | $2.2M (exactly $2,214,389) | Vermila Studios | |
 | Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector | $24.99 | 2,358 91% | 71k | $1.8M (exactly $1,767,793) | Jump Over The Age | |
 | MOLE | $12.99 | 3,534 97% | 106k | $1.4M (exactly $1,377,200) | Off Black Creations | |
 | The Talos Principle: Reawakened | $39.99 | 1,085 90% | 33k | $1.3M (exactly $1,301,674) | Croteam | |
 | Metal Garden | $5.99 | 4,375 96% | 131k | $786k (exactly $786,188) | Tinerasoft | |
 | BLADECHIMERA | $14.99 | 1,358 88% | 41k | $611k (exactly $610,693) | Team Ladybug, WSS playground |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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