Do I ship it?

Games › Exploration › Exploration + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Exploration Score Attack game?

Exploration + Score Attack

Of 103 developers who shipped an Exploration Score Attack 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.. 174 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $680, ×1.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×300 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 174 games are announced against 64 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 174 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Exploration + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 103
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $719 → $898 → $2.6k → $1.0k → $1.0k → $479 → $570 (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Exploration + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 103
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $683 (exactly $683)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,994)
Top 5% $143k (exactly $142,729)
Developers, 2 yr 103
Released games 433
Announced 174
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $1.99

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 35% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Exploration, Score Attack; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Puzzle, Adventure
Price point
$1.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cartoony, Minimalist, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $1.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 9,493 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $680, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 92 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 174 games are announced against 64 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Exploration with a different second tag, 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

ANTONBLAST 2024 · $2.4M Wuppo: Definitive Edition 2016 · $2.2M Superflight 2017 · $991k Driftwood 2025 · $718k Kayak VR: Mirage 2022 · $694k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ANTONBLAST $19.99 3,943 95% 118k $2.4M (exactly $2,364,617) Summitsphere
Wuppo: Definitive Edition older $14.99 4,949 94% 148k $2.2M (exactly $2,225,565) snekflat
Superflight older $2.99 11,047 96% 331k $991k (exactly $990,916) GrizzlyGames
Driftwood $19.99 1,197 92% 36k $718k (exactly $717,841) Stoked Sloth Interactive
Kayak VR: Mirage older $22.99 1,006 82% 30k $694k (exactly $693,838) Better Than Life
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny $29.99 663 85% 20k $597k (exactly $596,501) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration older $39.99 457 92% 14k $548k (exactly $548,263) Digital Eclipse
NIMRODS · EA $9.99 1,783 85% 53k $534k (exactly $534,365) Fiveamp
Wizordum $19.99 880 91% 26k $528k (exactly $527,736) Emberheart Games
BORE BLASTERS older $9.99 709 80% 21k $212k (exactly $212,487) 8BitSkull
Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?! $19.99 238 83% 7.1k $143k (exactly $142,729) Strange Scaffold
MotionRec $9.99 430 99% 13k $129k (exactly $128,871) HANDSUM
Myths are 100% True $14.99 184 100% 5.5k $83k (exactly $82,745) LeatherIceCream, ClayGod
Randomice $12.99 98 94% 2.9k $38k (exactly $38,191) Videoludid
Sniper Camouflage Orange Spy Warrior I Buried Two Bodies in the Garden and the Police Haven't Figured Out Yet That They're Missing Because They Were a Lonely Old Couple Who Had No Relatives Simulator 2026 · EA $9.99 77 66% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,077) The Only Way Out

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