Games › Economy › Economy + Futuristic
Should I ship a Futuristic Economy game?
Economy + Futuristic
Of 88 developers who shipped a Futuristic Economy 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.. 180 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $52k, ×83 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 180 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,648) |
| Top 25% | $8.7k (exactly $8,700) |
| Top 5% | $52k (exactly $52,148) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 88 |
| Released games | 168 |
| Announced | 180 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Economy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Futuristic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Building
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 70% positive over 16,606 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 180 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 2021 · $12M 
The Bazaar 2025 · $9.0M 
Anno 2205™ 2015 · $7.3M 
Anno 2070™ 2011 · $6.9M 
Age of Wonders: Planetfall 2019 · $4.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries | older | $29.99 | 13,347 84% | 400k | $12M (exactly $12,008,296) | Piranha Games Inc. |
| | The Bazaar | $19.99 | 14,931 70% | 448k | $9.0M (exactly $8,954,121) | Tempo | |
| | Anno 2205™ | older | $39.99 | 6,115 70% | 183k | $7.3M (exactly $7,336,166) | Blue Byte |
| | Anno 2070™ | older | $19.99 | 11,571 59% | 347k | $6.9M (exactly $6,939,129) | Blue Byte, Related Designs |
| | Age of Wonders: Planetfall | older | $29.99 | 4,758 80% | 143k | $4.3M (exactly $4,280,773) | Triumph Studios |
 | Dune: Imperium | older | $22.99 | 3,806 94% | 114k | $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) | Dire Wolf |
 | Cliff Empire | older | $17.99 | 4,194 87% | 126k | $2.3M (exactly $2,263,502) | Lion's Shade |
 | Slipways | older | $16.99 | 2,233 93% | 67k | $1.1M (exactly $1,138,160) | Beetlewing |
 | Solargene | $34.99 | 777 77% | 23k | $816k (exactly $815,617) | Alexander Semenov | |
 | Aquatico | older | $24.99 | 786 67% | 24k | $589k (exactly $589,264) | Digital Reef Games |
 | MegaFactory Titan | $19.99 | 150 76% | 4.5k | $90k (exactly $89,955) | Q Switched Productions, LLC | |
 | Space for Sale | $19.99 | 140 50% | 4.2k | $84k (exactly $83,958) | Mirage Game Studios | |
 | Emperor of the Fading Suns Enhanced | $9.99 | 174 95% | 5.2k | $52k (exactly $52,148) | Holistic Design, Inc. | |
 | Alien Market Simulator | $12.99 | 124 83% | 3.7k | $48k (exactly $48,323) | Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainme… (Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainment) | |
 | Solar Wave | · EA | $17.99 | 80 75% | 2.4k | $43k (exactly $43,176) | SavGus Studio |
 | Oasis Mission: Colony Sim | $14.99 | 91 56% | 2.7k | $41k (exactly $40,923) | Lunar pug studio | |
 | Possible One: Lunar Industries | · EA | $24.99 | 53 64% | 1.6k | $40k (exactly $39,734) | Upstairs Games |
 | Lunar Ascendant | $14.99 | 86 44% | 2.6k | $39k (exactly $38,674) | Darts Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.