Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian Sandbox?
Sandbox + Dystopian
Of 31 developers who shipped a Dystopian Sandbox 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.. 87 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $990, ×1.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×464 the market median. Revenue is up 385% on the market; 87 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $989 (exactly $989) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) |
| Top 5% | $292k (exactly $291,633) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 31 |
| Released games | 89 |
| Announced | 87 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 385% on the market, supply 80% more 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.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Survival, Action
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dark Humor, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 6,743 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 87 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
Hardspace: Shipbreaker 2022 · $20M 
Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M 
Crysis 2 Remastered 2022 · $8.1M 
Crysis 3 Remastered 2022 · $7.0M 
DYSMANTLE 2021 · $6.6M | 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 |
| | Infection Free Zone | · EA older | $24.99 | 16,568 80% | 497k | $12M (exactly $12,421,030) | Jutsu Games |
| | Crysis 2 Remastered | older | $29.99 | 9,034 89% | 271k | $8.1M (exactly $8,127,890) | Crytek, Saber Interactive |
| | Crysis 3 Remastered | older | $29.99 | 7,731 88% | 232k | $7.0M (exactly $6,955,581) | Crytek, Saber Interactive |
| | DYSMANTLE | older | $19.99 | 11,022 91% | 331k | $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) | 10tons Ltd |
 | AI＊Shoujo/AI＊少女 | older | $69.99 | 2,100 75% | 63k | $4.4M (exactly $4,409,370) | ILLUSION |
 | ANEURISM IV | $9.99 | 5,686 75% | 171k | $1.7M (exactly $1,704,094) | Vellocet | |
 | ATOM RPG Trudograd | older | $10.99 | 3,976 83% | 119k | $1.3M (exactly $1,310,887) | AtomTeam |
 | Landlord's Super | older | $19.99 | 1,442 80% | 43k | $865k (exactly $864,767) | Minskworks |
 | Dystopika | older | $6.99 | 3,413 95% | 102k | $716k (exactly $715,706) | Voids Within |
 | Ark of Charon | $24.99 | 389 75% | 12k | $292k (exactly $291,633) | Angoo Inc., SUNSOFT | |
 | Extinction Day | $19.99 | 206 74% | 6.2k | $124k (exactly $123,538) | DryGin Studios | |
 | Beatdown City Survivors | $9.99 | 80 98% | 2.4k | $24k (exactly $23,976) | NuChallenger | |
 | Colony 37 | · EA | $2.99 | 224 95% | 6.7k | $20k (exactly $20,093) | Valen |
 | OK Boomer | · EA | $7.99 | 70 77% | 2.1k | $17k (exactly $16,779) | Pugsy Studios |
 | Sand: A Superfluous Game | $9.99 | 24 83% | 720 | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) | Voided Pixels Studio | |
 | SCP | $9.99 | 24 37% | 720 | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) | Molance Games | |
 | CyberpunkXXX | $9.99 | 21 33% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | GAMERFLEX Studios | |
 | Seclusion | · EA | $9.99 | 19 68% | 570 | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) | Forgeworks Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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