Do I ship it?

Games › Exploration › Exploration + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech Exploration game?

Exploration + Mechs

Of 35 developers who shipped a Mech 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $3.9M, ×6310 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 61 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Exploration + Mechs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $8.5k → $90k → $2.2k → $17k → $23k → $34k (still earning) → $2.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Exploration + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,279)
Top 25% $41k (exactly $40,780)
Top 5% $4.0M (exactly $3,962,609)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 100
Announced 61
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 95% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Exploration
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Mechs
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Exploration; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 56% positive over 22,569 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $40k, 1 in 20 over $3.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair22 devs · median $8.1k · 26 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair31 devs · median $6.7k · 42 announced
  3. + SpaceshipsFair22 devs · median $3.5k · 28 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair122 devs · median $2.2k · 109 announced
  5. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds13 devs · median $215k · 24 announced
  6. + WuxiaPoor odds12 devs · median $192k · 35 announced
  7. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds23 devs · median $82k · 61 announced
  8. + Martial ArtsPoor odds25 devs · median $69k · 90 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds146 devs · median $58k · 354 announced
  10. + MMORPGPoor odds24 devs · median $52k · 213 announced
  11. + FMVPoor odds45 devs · median $27k · 76 announced
  12. + FarmingPoor odds41 devs · median $24k · 58 announced

All 258 pairs on the Exploration page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Generation Zero® 2019 · $22M SAND: Raiders of Sophie 2026 · EA · $9.4M Chained Echoes 2022 · $5.8M The Surge 2017 · $4.1M SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada 2025 · $4.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Generation Zero® older $24.99 29,115 75% 873k $22M (exactly $21,827,516) Systemic Reaction™
SAND: Raiders of Sophie · EA $24.99 12,485 49% 375k $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) Hologryph, TowerHaus
Chained Echoes older $24.99 7,713 88% 231k $5.8M (exactly $5,782,436) Umami Tiger (Matthias Linda)
The Surge older $14.99 9,161 75% 275k $4.1M (exactly $4,119,702) Deck13
SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada $39.99 3,303 40% 99k $4.0M (exactly $3,962,609) Game Studio Inc.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion $69.99 1,838 63% 55k $3.9M (exactly $3,859,249) Marvelous Inc.
Lightyear Frontier · EA older $24.99 4,257 83% 128k $3.2M (exactly $3,191,473) FRAME BREAK
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
SAND LAND older $59.99 1,018 86% 31k $1.8M (exactly $1,832,095) ILCA, Inc.
Dolls Nest $19.99 2,421 88% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,451,874) NITRO PLUS
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening $24.99 119 77% 3.6k $89k (exactly $89,214) Magic Pockets
STARBITES $49.99 42 64% 1.3k $63k (exactly $62,987) IKINAGAMES
Animalkind · EA $19.99 68 91% 2.0k $41k (exactly $40,780) Uncommon Games
Dosa Divas $19.99 56 94% 1.7k $34k (exactly $33,583) Outerloop Games

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