Games › Exploration › Exploration + Transhumanism
Should I ship a Transhumanist Exploration game?
Exploration + Transhumanism
Of 28 developers who shipped a Transhumanist 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.. 99 more are announced, ×6.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.2k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×944 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 99 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.2k (exactly $5,242) |
| Top 25% | $50k (exactly $49,917) |
| Top 5% | $448k (exactly $448,351) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 75 |
| Announced | 99 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.50 |
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 45% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, 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
- Transhumanism
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $9.50 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.50.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 4,273 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 7 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 99 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.6 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
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion 2025 · $3.9M 
State of Mind 2018 · $928k 
Paradise Lost 2021 · $661k 
Picayune Dreams 2023 · $623k 
INCISION 2025 · $448k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion | $69.99 | 1,838 63% | 55k | $3.9M (exactly $3,859,249) | Marvelous Inc. | |
| | State of Mind | older | $19.99 | 1,548 76% | 46k | $928k (exactly $928,336) | Daedalic Entertainment |
| | Paradise Lost | older | $14.99 | 1,469 67% | 44k | $661k (exactly $660,609) | PolyAmorous |
| | Picayune Dreams | older | $4.99 | 4,164 98% | 125k | $623k (exactly $623,351) | Stepford, Andyland, milkypossum |
| | INCISION | $14.99 | 997 85% | 30k | $448k (exactly $448,351) | SmoothBrainDev | |
 | Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead | older | $19.99 | 537 86% | 16k | $322k (exactly $322,039) | CleverRaven |
 | Heat Death: Survival Train | · EA | $11.99 | 709 77% | 21k | $255k (exactly $255,027) | Mass Game Devs |
 | Anode Heart | older | $17.99 | 438 90% | 13k | $236k (exactly $236,389) | Stove Powered Games |
 | Ambrosia Sky | $24.99 | 267 89% | 8.0k | $200k (exactly $200,170) | Soft Rains, Blackbird Interactive | |
 | FixFox | older | $14.99 | 367 85% | 11k | $165k (exactly $165,040) | Rendlike |
 | HELL GALAXY | $24.99 | 89 74% | 2.7k | $67k (exactly $66,723) | Italian Games Factory | |
 | Mars Vice | $24.99 | 70 97% | 2.1k | $52k (exactly $52,479) | Rho Labyrinths GmbH | |
 | Extraneum | $14.99 | 111 94% | 3.3k | $50k (exactly $49,917) | David Jalbert | |
 | Panthalassa | $13.99 | 98 97% | 2.9k | $41k (exactly $41,131) | Meia Calça | |
 | how to kill a fly [ H2KAF ] | $9.99 | 71 97% | 2.1k | $21k (exactly $21,279) | Radtel Collective | |
 | Alter Evo | $14.99 | 23 95% | 690 | $10k (exactly $10,343) | Technical Fiction |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.