Games › Exploration › Exploration + Hacking
Should I ship a Hacking Exploration game?
Exploration + Hacking
Of 35 developers who shipped a Hacking Exploration 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.. 98 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $560k, ×1179 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 98 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $16,553) |
| Top 5% | $560k (exactly $560,260) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 35 |
| Released games | 100 |
| Announced | 98 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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: revenue up 80% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Hacking
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $23.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $23.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 5,550 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 98 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
Crime Scene Cleaner 2024 · $29M 
Watch Dogs®: Legion 2023 · $21M 
Internet Cafe Simulator 2 2022 · $7.4M 
Thief Simulator 2 2023 · $3.9M 
Internet Cafe Simulator 2019 · $2.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Crime Scene Cleaner | older | $29.99 | 32,469 98% | 974k | $29M (exactly $29,212,359) | President Studio |
| | Watch Dogs®: Legion | older | $59.99 | 11,891 56% | 357k | $21M (exactly $21,400,233) | Ubisoft Toronto |
| | Internet Cafe Simulator 2 | older | $19.99 | 12,299 74% | 369k | $7.4M (exactly $7,375,710) | Cheesecake Dev |
| | Thief Simulator 2 | older | $19.99 | 6,568 87% | 197k | $3.9M (exactly $3,938,830) | CookieDev, Ultimate Games S.A. |
| | Internet Cafe Simulator | older | $9.99 | 8,729 75% | 262k | $2.6M (exactly $2,616,081) | Cheesecake Dev |
 | Peripeteia | · EA | $24.99 | 3,120 86% | 94k | $2.3M (exactly $2,339,064) | Ninth Exodus |
 | Duskers | older | $19.99 | 2,304 90% | 69k | $1.4M (exactly $1,381,709) | Misfits Attic |
 | Agent 64: Spies Never Die | $21.64 | 863 86% | 26k | $560k (exactly $560,260) | Replicant D6 | |
 | Quadrilateral Cowboy | older | $19.99 | 897 92% | 27k | $538k (exactly $537,931) | Blendo Games |
 | Jack Move | older | $19.99 | 813 80% | 24k | $488k (exactly $487,556) | So Romantic |
 | Cybernetic Fault | $14.99 | 679 78% | 20k | $305k (exactly $305,346) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | Midnight Heist | $9.99 | 389 92% | 12k | $117k (exactly $116,583) | MediaTale | |
 | Unsafe Express | $11.99 | 222 59% | 6.7k | $80k (exactly $79,853) | OnSkull Games | |
 | Carmen Sandiego | $29.99 | 86 67% | 2.6k | $77k (exactly $77,374) | Gameloft | |
 | GRIDbeat! | $19.99 | 93 100% | 2.8k | $56k (exactly $55,772) | Ridiculous Games | |
 | Within the Cosmos | $14.99 | 53 43% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $23,834) | debdev | |
 | Codename: Terranova | $23.99 | 23 69% | 690 | $17k (exactly $16,553) | ACGames | |
 | Venice After Dark | $19.99 | 22 90% | 660 | $13k (exactly $13,193) | Sebastian Grünwald, Weltenwandler Desig… (Sebastian Grünwald, Weltenwandler Designagentur GmbH) |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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