Do I ship it?

GamesMMORPGMMORPG + Economy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Economy MMORPG?

MMORPG + Economy

Only 3 developers shipped a paid Economy MMORPG in the last 2 years. Over all years on record, 10 did: 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.. 7 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 47 more are announced, ×16 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 10 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $65k against a market of $1.3k. 47 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 48.1 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 47 announced, ×16 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
MMORPG + Economy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, all n = 10

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for MMORPG + Economy: Plate 1 · outcomes, all, n = 10
Bottom 30% $9.6k (exactly $9,595)
Median $65k (exactly $64,757)
Top 25% $160k (exactly $159,831)
Top 5% $18M (exactly $18,392,567)
Developers, all 10
Released games 38
Announced 47
Effort 10 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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: too few recent games to read.

Free games: 74%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

MMORPG
effort 10 / 10 · low · persistent world servers and a live economy
Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
10 / 10 · studio only
Systems
MMORPG, Economy
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 65% positive over 24,398 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes over all years on record by share: 3 in 10 under $9.6k, median $65k, 1 in 4 over $150k, 1 in 20 over $18M.

3 in 10 developers made under $9.6k. 47 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×16 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

MMORPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LootPoor odds8 devs · median $253k · 57 announced
  2. + TradingPoor odds6 devs · median $206k · 42 announced
  3. + SandboxPoor odds15 devs · median $144k · 107 announced
  4. + Dungeon CrawlerPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  5. + CraftingPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  6. + MagicPoor odds11 devs · median $111k · 109 announced
  7. + Online Co-OpPoor odds15 devs · median $65k · 130 announced
  8. + FantasyPoor odds27 devs · median $61k · 232 announced
  9. + Class-BasedPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds33 devs · median $52k · 252 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds28 devs · median $52k · 217 announced
  12. + ExplorationPoor odds24 devs · median $52k · 213 announced

All 71 pairs on the MMORPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Last Oasis · EA $29.99 20,443 63% 613k $18M (exactly $18,392,567) Donkey Crew
Windward $9.99 2,668 79% 80k $800k (exactly $799,600) Tasharen Entertainment Inc.
SPACERIFT: Arcanum System · EA $12.90 413 77% 12k $160k (exactly $159,831) Arcanum Team
MMO98 $6.99 511 69% 15k $107k (exactly $107,157) BiteMe Games
Adventure Land - The Code MMORPG $14.99 144 84% 4.3k $65k (exactly $64,757) Wizard
Kings Of Streets · EA $4.99 132 53% 4.0k $20k (exactly $19,760) TB Games
Rise - The Vieneo Province $19.99 16 68% 480 $9.6k (exactly $9,595) Unistellar Industries, LLC
Upgradia · EA $9.99 32 65% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) Mytharia
Pillazon: MMO Drug Lord Tycoon · EA $4.99 33 66% 990 $4.9k (exactly $4,940) PiCorp
Between Two Stars · EA $5.99 6 50% 180 $1.1k (exactly $1,078) AdamGreen.tech

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