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Should I ship an Exploration God Game?
God Game + Exploration
Of 41 developers who shipped an Exploration God 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.. 92 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×3.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $740k, ×1188 the market median. Revenue is up 1505% on the market; 92 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $270 (exactly $270) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.0k (exactly $2,035) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,473) |
| Top 5% | $746k (exactly $746,027) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 164 |
| Announced | 92 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 1505% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- God Game
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- God Game, Exploration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action-Adventure, Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cute, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 7,098 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 92 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
God Game with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + HistoricalFair
- + EconomyFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + DestructionFair
- + DystopianFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeLong shot
- + Farming SimLong shot
- + AgricultureLong shot
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SPORE™ | older | $19.99 | 66,871 92% | 2.0M | $40M (exactly $40,102,539) | Maxis™ |
| | Universe Sandbox | · EA older | $29.99 | 27,843 96% | 835k | $25M (exactly $25,050,347) | Giant Army |
| | The Universim | older | $29.99 | 8,465 79% | 254k | $7.6M (exactly $7,615,960) | Crytivo |
| | SPORE™ Galactic Adventures | older | $19.99 | 7,249 89% | 217k | $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) | EA - Maxis |
| | Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2 | older | $19.99 | 7,206 84% | 216k | $4.3M (exactly $4,321,438) | Brilliant Game Studios |
| | Reus 2 | older | $24.99 | 2,133 94% | 64k | $1.6M (exactly $1,599,110) | Abbey Games |
| | Sapiens | · EA older | $24.99 | 2,052 80% | 62k | $1.5M (exactly $1,538,384) | Majic Jungle |
| | Everything | older | $14.99 | 3,189 83% | 96k | $1.4M (exactly $1,434,093) | David OReilly |
| | Stardeus | · EA older | $29.99 | 1,430 87% | 43k | $1.3M (exactly $1,286,571) | Kodo Linija |
| | SPORE™ Creepy & Cute Parts Pack | older | $19.99 | 2,053 89% | 62k | $1.2M (exactly $1,231,184) | Maxis™ |
| | JIANGHU CHRONICLES | $17.99 | 2,046 70% | 61k | $1.1M (exactly $1,104,226) | 一品阁 | |
| | I Am Jesus Christ | $19.99 | 1,486 87% | 45k | $891k (exactly $891,154) | Space Boat Studios | |
| | Stonemachia | $19.99 | 1,244 95% | 37k | $746k (exactly $746,027) | Crossfall Games | |
| | Masters of Albion | · EA | $24.99 | 607 64% | 18k | $455k (exactly $455,068) | 22cans |
| | Fata Deum - The God Sim | · EA | $29.99 | 410 59% | 12k | $369k (exactly $368,877) | 42 Bits Entertainment |
| | Fox Sex Farm | $17.99 | 413 82% | 12k | $223k (exactly $222,896) | R's | |
| | Strange Seed | $14.99 | 431 86% | 13k | $194k (exactly $193,821) | Chronicle Games Ltd | |
| | The Eastern Sacrifice | $9.99 | 356 55% | 11k | $107k (exactly $106,693) | 五条虾仁(5 shrimps) | |
| | Myths and Legends | $17.99 | 54 92% | 1.6k | $29k (exactly $29,144) | Artificial Worlds | |
| | Zen World | $9.99 | 51 80% | 1.5k | $15k (exactly $15,285) | Cartboard Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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