Games › Exploration › Exploration + War
Should I ship a War Exploration game?
Exploration + War
Of 69 developers who shipped a War 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.. 163 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.1k, ×6.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $510; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×1913 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 163 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $505 (exactly $505) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.1k (exactly $4,075) |
| Top 25% | $54k (exactly $53,646) |
| Top 5% | $1.2M (exactly $1,201,149) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 69 |
| Released games | 297 |
| Announced | 163 |
| 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 down 65% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- War
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Exploration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, RPG, Strategy
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 36,334 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $510. 6 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 163 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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
Mad Max 2015 · $35M 
Age of Wonders 4 2023 · $25M 
METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER 2025 · $20M 
Black Desert 2017 · $19M 
Bellwright 2024 · EA · $18M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mad Max | older | $19.99 | 57,651 91% | 1.7M | $35M (exactly $34,573,305) | Avalanche Studios |
| | Age of Wonders 4 | older | $49.99 | 16,899 82% | 507k | $25M (exactly $25,343,430) | Triumph Studios |
| | METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER | $49.99 | 13,554 82% | 407k | $20M (exactly $20,326,934) | KONAMI | |
| | Black Desert | older | $9.99 | 63,052 75% | 1.9M | $19M (exactly $18,896,684) | Pearl Abyss |
| | Bellwright | · EA older | $29.99 | 20,130 80% | 604k | $18M (exactly $18,110,961) | Donkey Crew |
 | 下一站江湖Ⅱ | older | $24.99 | 8,507 72% | 255k | $6.4M (exactly $6,377,698) | 白玉京工作室 |
 | METAL GEAR SOLID 3: Snake Eater - Master Collection Version | older | $19.99 | 5,403 89% | 162k | $3.2M (exactly $3,240,179) | KONAMI |
 | Carrier Command 2 | older | $29.99 | 3,444 82% | 103k | $3.1M (exactly $3,098,567) | Geometa |
 | Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars | $49.99 | 2,049 94% | 61k | $3.1M (exactly $3,072,885) | KONAMI | |
 | The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall | $11.99 | 8,227 58% | 247k | $3.0M (exactly $2,959,252) | 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame) | |
 | Songs of Silence | $29.99 | 2,367 79% | 71k | $2.1M (exactly $2,129,590) | Chimera Entertainment | |
 | METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Guns of the Patriots - Master Collection Version | $29.99 | 2,315 96% | 69k | $2.1M (exactly $2,082,806) | KONAMI | |
 | Shao Song I | $14.99 | 2,671 81% | 80k | $1.2M (exactly $1,201,149) | 互动之星, 猫眼娱乐 | |
 | Empire of the Ants | $39.99 | 931 73% | 28k | $1.1M (exactly $1,116,921) | Tower Five | |
 | Conquer the world | $12.99 | 1,996 92% | 60k | $778k (exactly $777,841) | 互动之星 | |
 | Vietnam War | · EA | $14.99 | 1,704 84% | 51k | $766k (exactly $766,289) | Thorium Game Lab |
 | Rise of Piracy | · EA | $15.99 | 520 77% | 16k | $249k (exactly $249,444) | IrishJohnGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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