Should I ship a PvP Flight game?
PvP + Flight
Of 61 developers who shipped a PvP Flight 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.. 124 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240. 124 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper, while revenue is up 380% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $450 (exactly $450) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) |
| Top 5% | $188k (exactly $188,037) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 61 |
| Released games | 233 |
| Announced | 124 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 380% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP, Flight; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Simulation, Co-op
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 3,479 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 124 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN 2019 · $83M 
Stormworks: Build and Rescue 2020 · $41M 
STAR WARS™: Squadrons 2020 · $30M 
Besiege 2020 · $22M 
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad 2014 · $13M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN | older | $59.99 | 46,235 87% | 1.4M | $83M (exactly $83,209,130) | Bandai Namco Studios Inc. |
| | Stormworks: Build and Rescue | older | $24.99 | 54,649 90% | 1.6M | $41M (exactly $40,970,355) | Geometa |
| | STAR WARS™: Squadrons | older | $39.99 | 25,086 66% | 753k | $30M (exactly $30,095,674) | MOTIVE |
| | Besiege | older | $14.99 | 48,045 95% | 1.4M | $22M (exactly $21,605,836) | Spiderling Studios |
| | IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad | older | $49.99 | 8,749 79% | 262k | $13M (exactly $13,120,875) | FOR-GAMES CR LTD |
 | Nuclear Option | · EA older | $19.99 | 10,275 95% | 308k | $6.2M (exactly $6,161,917) | Shockfront Studios |
 | Star Trek: Infinite | older | $29.99 | 3,030 41% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,726,091) | Nimble Giant Entertainment |
 | Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions | older | $29.99 | 2,790 73% | 84k | $2.5M (exactly $2,510,163) | Unbroken Studios |
 | Redout: Enhanced Edition | older | $19.99 | 3,438 84% | 103k | $2.1M (exactly $2,061,769) | 34BigThings srl |
 | Tower! Simulator 3 | older | $59.99 | 1,047 67% | 31k | $1.9M (exactly $1,884,286) | FeelThere |
 | Aces of Thunder | $29.99 | 1,159 57% | 35k | $1.0M (exactly $1,042,752) | Gaijin Entertainment | |
 | Valkyrie of Phantasm | $29.99 | 556 86% | 17k | $500k (exactly $500,233) | AREAZERO | |
 | Firehawk: FPV Drone Shooter | $19.99 | 494 91% | 15k | $296k (exactly $296,252) | TruePlayers | |
 | Scramble: Battle of Britain | · EA | $29.99 | 209 88% | 6.3k | $188k (exactly $188,037) | Slitherine Ltd. |
 | Birds of War | $9.99 | 439 87% | 13k | $132k (exactly $131,568) | HexNest Games | |
 | BeastLink | · EA | $19.99 | 187 45% | 5.6k | $112k (exactly $112,144) | Grove Street Games |
 | F-22: Air Dominance Fighter | $19.99 | 138 91% | 4.1k | $83k (exactly $82,759) | Digital Image Design Ltd. | |
 | Virtual Fighter Maneuvers | $14.99 | 138 94% | 4.1k | $62k (exactly $62,059) | Boundless Dynamics, LLC | |
 | In The Black | · EA | $19.99 | 84 72% | 2.5k | $50k (exactly $50,375) | Impeller Studios |
 | Reflex Unit: Strike Ops | $15.99 | 75 84% | 2.3k | $36k (exactly $35,978) | ROBOSARU Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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