Games › Exploration › Exploration + Steampunk
Should I ship a Steampunk Exploration game?
Exploration + Steampunk
Of 48 developers who shipped a Steampunk 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.. 157 more are announced, ×5.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $630k, ×1005 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 157 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) |
| Top 25% | $15k (exactly $15,103) |
| Top 5% | $631k (exactly $631,042) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 48 |
| Released games | 171 |
| Announced | 157 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 down 25% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, 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
- Steampunk
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Exploration; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Point & Click
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 55% positive over 15,372 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 157 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.6 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
Lies of P 2023 · $105M 
Dishonored 2 2016 · $39M 
FAR: Lone Sails 2018 · $11M 
SAND: Raiders of Sophie 2026 · EA · $9.4M 
FINAL FANTASY IX 2016 · $7.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Lies of P | older | $59.99 | 58,411 91% | 1.8M | $105M (exactly $105,122,277) | NEOWIZ |
| | Dishonored 2 | older | $29.99 | 42,988 90% | 1.3M | $39M (exactly $38,676,304) | Arkane Studios |
| | FAR: Lone Sails | older | $14.99 | 24,474 95% | 734k | $11M (exactly $11,005,958) | Okomotive |
| | SAND: Raiders of Sophie | · EA | $24.99 | 12,485 49% | 375k | $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) | Hologryph, TowerHaus |
| | FINAL FANTASY IX | older | $20.99 | 12,447 95% | 373k | $7.8M (exactly $7,837,876) | Square Enix |
 | Syberia: The World Before | older | $39.99 | 4,069 89% | 122k | $4.9M (exactly $4,881,579) | Microids Studio Paris |
 | The Room 4: Old Sins | older | $8.99 | 17,806 98% | 534k | $4.8M (exactly $4,802,278) | Fireproof Games |
 | Volcanoids | · EA older | $19.99 | 7,679 83% | 230k | $4.6M (exactly $4,605,096) | Volcanoid |
 | Gloomwood | · EA older | $19.99 | 7,495 95% | 225k | $4.5M (exactly $4,494,752) | Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Be… (Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Berens, Thomas Porta) |
 | SUNLESS SEA | older | $18.99 | 7,625 83% | 229k | $4.3M (exactly $4,343,962) | Failbetter Games |
 | Syberia - Remastered | $29.99 | 724 70% | 22k | $651k (exactly $651,383) | Virtuallyz Gaming, Microids Studio Paris | |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | Kristala | $39.99 | 485 71% | 15k | $582k (exactly $581,854) | Astral Clocktower Studios | |
 | Neyyah | $24.99 | 229 83% | 6.9k | $172k (exactly $171,681) | Defy Reality Entertainment | |
 | Erannorth Renaissance | $19.99 | 186 81% | 5.6k | $112k (exactly $111,544) | Spyridon Thalassinos | |
 | Duskpunk | $19.99 | 171 91% | 5.1k | $103k (exactly $102,549) | Clockwork Bird, James Patton | |
 | Snow Ash | $14.99 | 179 73% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Ember Studio | |
 | Clockwork Ambrosia | $19.99 | 133 84% | 4.0k | $80k (exactly $79,760) | Realmsoft | |
 | Éalú | $9.99 | 254 92% | 7.6k | $76k (exactly $76,124) | Beyond the Bark, Orr Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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