Do I ship it?

Games › Procedural Generation › Procedural Generation + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Procedural Generation game?

Procedural Generation + Dystopian

Of 52 developers who shipped a Dystopian Procedural Generation 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.. 128 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $790k, ×1682 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 128 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 128 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Procedural Generation + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 52
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $897 → $446 → $1.5k → $4.9k → $4.5k → $449 (still earning) → $848 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Procedural Generation + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 52
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,492)
Top 25% $7.8k (exactly $7,821)
Top 5% $799k (exactly $799,117)
Developers, 2 yr 52
Released games 123
Announced 128
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 50% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Procedural Generation
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
Procedural Generation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Pixel Graphics, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 12,023 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $7.8k, 1 in 20 over $790k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 128 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SnowFair11 devs · median $3.0k · 16 announced
  2. + Traditional RoguelikeFair71 devs · median $2.0k · 93 announced
  3. + DetectiveFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced
  4. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  5. + TypingFair26 devs · median $1.1k · 11 announced
  6. + IdlerFair98 devs · median $807 · 107 announced
  7. + LogicFair137 devs · median $478 · 149 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair57 devs · median $449 · 62 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair58 devs · median $418 · 56 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds31 devs · median $77k · 95 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds22 devs · median $30k · 35 announced

All 222 pairs on the Procedural Generation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hardspace: Shipbreaker 2022 · $20M We Happy Few 2018 · $20M Road 96 🛣️ 2021 · $13M Quasimorph 2026 · $5.4M Going Under 2020 · $1.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hardspace: Shipbreaker older $34.99 19,431 89% 583k $20M (exactly $20,396,721) Blackbird Interactive
We Happy Few older $59.99 11,204 76% 336k $20M (exactly $20,163,839) Compulsion Games
Road 96 🛣️ older $19.96 22,118 91% 664k $13M (exactly $13,244,258) Digixart
Quasimorph $24.99 7,196 82% 216k $5.4M (exactly $5,394,841) Magnum Scriptum
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
As We Descend · EA $19.99 1,336 86% 40k $801k (exactly $801,199) Box Dragon
DEAD LETTER DEPT. $14.99 1,777 95% 53k $799k (exactly $799,117) Mike Monroe, Belief Engine
Dystopika older $6.99 3,413 95% 102k $716k (exactly $715,706) Voids Within
RAM: Random Access Mayhem $14.99 611 97% 18k $275k (exactly $274,767) Xylem Studios
The Great Rebellion older $15.99 546 96% 16k $262k (exactly $261,916) Kvltgames
Tankenstein · EA $17.99 238 89% 7.1k $128k (exactly $128,449) Landship Games LTD
Frozen Ship · EA $19.99 142 76% 4.3k $85k (exactly $85,157) Nionetix
CashGrab: Refunded · EA $6.99 206 87% 6.2k $43k (exactly $43,198) Grabba Guild Games LLC
Subterranauts $4.99 190 76% 5.7k $28k (exactly $28,443) Red Basket Games
Kiloton $6.99 103 96% 3.1k $22k (exactly $21,599) Jack Morehart
Colony 37 · EA $2.99 224 95% 6.7k $20k (exactly $20,093) Valen

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