Do I ship it?

Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Metroidvania?

Metroidvania + Dystopian

Of 25 developers who shipped a Dystopian Metroidvania 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.. 57 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 $3.6k, ×7.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×453 the market median. Revenue is up 1050% on the market; 57 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 1050% on the market, 57 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Metroidvania + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $1.2k → $2.2k → $599 → $599 → $3.6k (still earning) → $3.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Metroidvania + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,598)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,467)
Top 5% $215k (exactly $215,185)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 59
Announced 57
Effort 4 / 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 1050% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Metroidvania
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Metroidvania; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Side Scroller, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 2,904 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ParkourPoor odds8 devs · median $80k · 40 announced
  2. + Online Co-OpPoor odds12 devs · median $74k · 15 announced
  3. + CraftingPoor odds10 devs · median $34k · 61 announced
  4. + SimulationPoor odds16 devs · median $32k · 35 announced
  5. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $28k · 29 announced
  6. + CollectathonPoor odds30 devs · median $16k · 78 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 33 announced
  8. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $14k · 46 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds102 devs · median $14k · 335 announced
  10. + VampiresPoor odds16 devs · median $14k · 29 announced
  11. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $14k · 42 announced
  12. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $12k · 37 announced

All 90 pairs on the Metroidvania page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

HAAK 2022 · $1.7M Rusted Moss 2023 · $945k BLADECHIMERA 2025 · $611k Possessor(s) 2025 · $215k MotionRec 2025 · $129k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HAAK older $17.99 3,149 89% 94k $1.7M (exactly $1,699,515) Blingame
Rusted Moss older $19.99 1,575 88% 47k $945k (exactly $944,527) Emlise, happysquared, sunnydaze
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Possessor(s) $9.99 718 75% 22k $215k (exactly $215,185) Heart Machine
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
Resolutiion older $19.99 112 66% 3.4k $67k (exactly $67,166) Monolith of Minds
Orten Was The Case older $14.99 125 94% 3.8k $56k (exactly $56,212) Woodhill Interactive
Biomass older $14.99 94 85% 2.8k $42k (exactly $42,272) Final Scene dev
Anima Flux $19.99 69 78% 2.1k $41k (exactly $41,379) Avantaj Prim
Last Vanguard $14.99 77 81% 2.3k $35k (exactly $34,627) Cool Tapir Studios
Alruna and the Necro-Industrialists $9.99 113 84% 3.4k $34k (exactly $33,866) Neckbolt
Alruna: End of History $11.99 44 88% 1.3k $16k (exactly $15,827) Neckbolt
HOPE 01 · EA $11.99 43 88% 1.3k $15k (exactly $15,467) Bending Boy Games
Mai: Child of Ages $14.99 34 88% 1.0k $15k (exactly $15,290) Chubby Pixel
NBB.EXE $19.99 18 100% 540 $11k (exactly $10,795) Raptus Games

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.