Do I ship it?

GamesSpace SimSpace Sim + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Space Sim?

Space Sim + Dystopian

Only 8 developers shipped a Dystopian Space Sim 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, Deep Space Exploitation, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×5.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $900 against a market of $630. 22 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 38135% on the market, 22 announced, ×5.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Space Sim + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 8
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $150 → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Space Sim + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 8
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $31,955)
Top 5% $35k (exactly $35,331)
Developers, 2 yr 8
Released games 33
Announced 22
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 38130% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 27%, 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.

Space Sim
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Space Sim
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $22.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 23,757 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $900, 1 in 4 over $31k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DestructionFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 22 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair9 devs · median $3.6k · 12 announced
  3. + Tactical RPGFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 15 announced
  4. + WarFair34 devs · median $1.3k · 42 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorFair16 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  6. + SportsFair8 devs · median $479 · 9 announced
  7. + DiplomacyLong shot7 devs · median $360 · 14 announced
  8. + MilitaryPoor odds18 devs · median $6.3k · 39 announced
  9. + Online Co-OpPoor odds18 devs · median $4.9k · 63 announced
  10. + Strategy RPGPoor odds8 devs · median $4.9k · 21 announced
  11. + SandboxPoor odds86 devs · median $4.6k · 213 announced
  12. + Colony SimPoor odds42 devs · median $4.6k · 91 announced

All 114 pairs on the Space Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Space Wreck older $16.99 170 88% 5.1k $87k (exactly $86,649) Pahris Entertainment SIA
Deep Space Exploitation $8.99 131 96% 3.9k $35k (exactly $35,331) JuhrJuhr
Legitimate Space Corp Simulator LLC $12.99 82 69% 2.5k $32k (exactly $31,955) VHornet Games
Cosmic Miners · EA $9.99 60 53% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,982) bitByte Games
Timewell: Trail of Celestes older $17.99 20 85% 600 $11k (exactly $10,794) OZBER CIN
Liberation older $15.99 22 81% 660 $11k (exactly $10,553) Classyk Games
Space Salvage older $24.99 6 66% 180 $4.5k (exactly $4,498) Fruity Systems
Space Ducks: The great escape older $3.99 29 82% 870 $3.5k (exactly $3,471) 6 Toad Games, taletronic
System Ascension: Idle Core $4.99 6 16% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Studio Rouleau Inc
Fantastic journey $9.99 1 0% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Nouveausouffle
DRONE SMUGGLER · EA $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Debauched Sloth Games
Observer Protocol: The Station - Second Shift $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) BuderWorks
Observer Protocol: The Station - Final Shift $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) BuderWorks
Catch These Hands · EA $0.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) MissilexCrisis

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