Should I ship a Space FPS?
FPS + Space
Of 114 developers who shipped a Space FPS 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.. 216 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×1.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $4.9M, ×3322 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 216 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) |
| Top 25% | $25k (exactly $24,819) |
| Top 5% | $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 114 |
| Released games | 469 |
| Announced | 216 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 71% positive over 161,724 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 57 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 216 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
No Man's Sky 2016 · $567M 
Halo: The Master Chief Collection 2019 · $287M 
Deep Rock Galactic 2020 · $273M 
Borderlands 4 2025 · $122M 
STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II 2020 · $105M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | No Man's Sky | older | $59.99 | 315,054 83% | 9.5M | $567M (exactly $567,002,684) | Hello Games |
| | Halo: The Master Chief Collection | older | $39.99 | 239,603 92% | 7.2M | $287M (exactly $287,451,719) | 343 Industries, Splash Damage, Ruffian… (343 Industries, Splash Damage, Ruffian Games, Bungie, Saber Interactive) |
| | Deep Rock Galactic | older | $29.99 | 303,142 97% | 9.1M | $273M (exactly $272,736,857) | Ghost Ship Games |
| | Borderlands 4 | $69.99 | 57,874 59% | 1.7M | $122M (exactly $121,518,038) | Gearbox Software | |
| | STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II | older | $39.99 | 87,494 88% | 2.6M | $105M (exactly $104,966,552) | DICE |
 | Alien: Isolation | older | $39.99 | 48,591 92% | 1.5M | $58M (exactly $58,294,623) | Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (M… (Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
 | Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel | older | $39.99 | 31,771 79% | 953k | $38M (exactly $38,115,669) | 2K Australia, Gearbox Software, Aspyr (… (2K Australia, Gearbox Software, Aspyr (Linux)) |
 | Prey | older | $29.99 | 37,759 90% | 1.1M | $34M (exactly $33,971,772) | Arkane Studios |
 | Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare | older | $59.99 | 17,489 65% | 525k | $31M (exactly $31,474,953) | Infinity Ward |
 | STAR WARS™: Squadrons | older | $39.99 | 25,086 66% | 753k | $30M (exactly $30,095,674) | MOTIVE |
 | Starship Troopers: Extermination | $29.99 | 29,724 80% | 892k | $27M (exactly $26,742,683) | Offworld | |
 | Halo: Campaign Evolved | $49.99 | 12,512 61% | 375k | $19M (exactly $18,764,246) | Halo Studios | |
 | Subverse | $39.99 | 13,781 66% | 413k | $17M (exactly $16,533,066) | Studio FOW Interactive | |
 | Jump Space | · EA | $19.99 | 10,724 85% | 322k | $6.4M (exactly $6,431,183) | Keepsake Games |
 | LOCKDOWN Protocol | $9.99 | 16,605 86% | 498k | $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) | Mirage Creative Lab | |
 | Wildgate | $29.99 | 5,032 77% | 151k | $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) | Moonshot Games | |
 | Species: Unknown | · EA | $9.99 | 9,437 94% | 283k | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,269) | WanadevStudio |
 | High On Life 2 | $39.99 | 2,200 71% | 66k | $2.6M (exactly $2,639,340) | Squanch Games, Inc. | |
 | Angels Fall First | $17.99 | 3,835 81% | 115k | $2.1M (exactly $2,069,749) | Strangely Interactive Ltd |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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