Do I ship it?

GamesFlightFlight + Spaceships

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Spaceship Flight game?

Flight + Spaceships

Only 16 developers shipped a Spaceship Flight game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Jump Space, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $6.4M, ×10241 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 24 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 24 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Flight + Spaceships
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $119 → $539 → $3.0k → $1.5k → $0 (still earning) → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Flight + Spaceships: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $67k (exactly $66,723)
Top 5% $6.4M (exactly $6,431,183)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 62
Announced 24
Effort 6 / 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 35% on the market, supply 335% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Flight
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Spaceships
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Flight; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, PvE, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 15,796 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $66k, 1 in 20 over $6.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 24 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Flight with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair9 devs · median $2.4k · 11 announced
  2. + Hidden ObjectFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 10 announced
  3. + Quick-Time EventsFair9 devs · median $657 · 9 announced
  4. + CatsFair6 devs · median $629 · 10 announced
  5. + Life SimPoor odds12 devs · median $70k · 29 announced
  6. + TradingPoor odds6 devs · median $36k · 21 announced
  7. + MiningPoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 13 announced
  8. + CraftingPoor odds14 devs · median $19k · 57 announced
  9. + Base BuildingPoor odds23 devs · median $17k · 48 announced
  10. + EconomyPoor odds20 devs · median $15k · 45 announced
  11. + RTSPoor odds14 devs · median $15k · 18 announced
  12. + Cold WarPoor odds10 devs · median $11k · 16 announced

All 132 pairs on the Flight page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
STAR WARS™: Squadrons older $39.99 25,086 66% 753k $30M (exactly $30,095,674) MOTIVE
Avorion older $24.99 13,001 90% 390k $9.7M (exactly $9,746,850) Boxelware
Jump Space · EA $19.99 10,724 85% 322k $6.4M (exactly $6,431,183) Keepsake Games
Starpoint Gemini Warlords older $34.99 3,076 72% 92k $3.2M (exactly $3,228,877) Little Green Men Games
Starpoint Gemini 2 older $34.99 3,021 70% 91k $3.2M (exactly $3,171,144) Little Green Men Games
Chorus older $24.99 3,876 81% 116k $2.9M (exactly $2,905,837) Deep Silver Fishlabs
Ostranauts $19.99 3,137 77% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) Blue Bottle Games
Starminer · EA $29.99 1,818 72% 55k $1.6M (exactly $1,635,655) CoolAndGoodGames
Flight Of Nova · EA older $29.99 537 93% 16k $483k (exactly $483,139) Aerovery Lab
Evochron Mercenary older $14.99 403 75% 12k $181k (exactly $181,229) StarWraith 3D Games LLC
HELL GALAXY $24.99 89 74% 2.7k $67k (exactly $66,723) Italian Games Factory
A-Spec First Assault $14.99 9 55% 270 $4.0k (exactly $4,047) Digitum Software
Starship Fighters: Space Combat Simulator · EA $24.99 2 0% 60 $1.5k (exactly $1,499) Hard Shark Games
Timeloop Titans $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) LapaGames
Drawn to Drift $9.99 4 100% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) FrogForgeGames
Pocket Rocket $2.99 6 100% 180 $538 (exactly $538) Jazzcat games
星宇战舰 Astral-Battlecraft $4.99 2 0% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Jilin Code Rabbit Network Game Co.,Ltd.

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