Games › Runner › Runner + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian Runner?
Runner + Dystopian
Only 18 developers shipped a Dystopian Runner in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, VHOLUME, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 27 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 9 developers shipped in the last year and 27 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $238 (exactly $238) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) |
| Top 5% | $718k (exactly $718,080) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 58 |
| Announced | 27 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Runner; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 3D Platformer, Arcade
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 3,811 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Runner with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LootFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + FPSLong shot
- + 4 Player LocalPoor odds
- + MusicPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Interactive FictionPoor odds
Comparable games
Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst 2020 · $8.4M 
STRIDE 2022 · $1.2M 
VHOLUME 2026 · $718k 
Seen 2019 · EA · $277k 
Panoptic 2020 · $143k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst | older | $19.99 | 14,078 79% | 422k | $8.4M (exactly $8,442,577) | DICE |
| | STRIDE | older | $19.99 | 1,975 79% | 59k | $1.2M (exactly $1,184,408) | Joy Way |
| | VHOLUME | $8.00 | 2,992 97% | 90k | $718k (exactly $718,080) | Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels… (Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin) | |
| | Seen | · EA older | $0.99 | 9,326 91% | 280k | $277k (exactly $276,982) | Seen Games |
| | Panoptic | older | $16.99 | 281 96% | 8.4k | $143k (exactly $143,226) | Team Panoptes |
 | Ikarus Parkour | $12.99 | 195 81% | 5.9k | $76k (exactly $75,992) | Vanja Aleksić | |
 | Retrowave 2 | $4.99 | 449 88% | 13k | $67k (exactly $67,215) | RewindApp | |
 | 《Drifting : Weight of Feathers》 | older | $11.99 | 48 72% | 1.4k | $17k (exactly $17,266) | MING YEN WU |
 | Synthwave Driver | · EA | $2.99 | 107 86% | 3.2k | $9.6k (exactly $9,598) | Runebox Studios |
 | CashGrab | older | $2.93 | 101 93% | 3.0k | $8.9k (exactly $8,878) | Grabba Guild Games LLC |
 | Soul Drifter | $14.99 | 16 93% | 480 | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) | VISIONKEEPER Studio | |
 | Under The Red Sky | · EA | $7.99 | 26 96% | 780 | $6.2k (exactly $6,232) | Dedra Games, Federico Calchera |
 | Riseon | $2.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $1.3k (exactly $1,256) | SHINKURO VALLEY | |
 | ノースウェステリアの子供 | $4.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | Ituki Ebina | |
 | CATRUN | $0.99 | 8 75% | 240 | $238 (exactly $238) | Lola Fisher | |
 | Missile Pilot | $2.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $179 (exactly $179) | J. A. Davies |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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