Should I ship a Space Sim FPS?
FPS + Space Sim
Only 18 developers shipped a Space Sim FPS 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, Wildgate, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 54 more are announced, ×6.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 9 developers shipped in the last year and 54 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $1.5k (exactly $1,499) |
| Top 5% | $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 88 |
| Announced | 54 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 260% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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, Space Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Shooter
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 8,969 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, 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 
STAR WARS™: Squadrons 2020 · $30M 
Empyrion - Galactic Survival 2020 · $18M 
Marauders 2022 · EA · $12M 
Starbase 2021 · EA · $6.5M | 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 |
| | STAR WARS™: Squadrons | older | $39.99 | 25,086 66% | 753k | $30M (exactly $30,095,674) | MOTIVE |
| | Empyrion - Galactic Survival | older | $19.99 | 29,204 78% | 876k | $18M (exactly $17,513,639) | Eleon Game Studios |
| | Marauders | · EA older | $29.99 | 13,505 68% | 405k | $12M (exactly $12,150,448) | Small Impact Games |
| | Starbase | · EA older | $34.99 | 6,217 56% | 187k | $6.5M (exactly $6,525,985) | Frozenbyte |
 | Wildgate | $29.99 | 5,032 77% | 151k | $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) | Moonshot Games | |
 | PULSAR: Lost Colony | older | $19.99 | 4,409 89% | 132k | $2.6M (exactly $2,644,077) | Leafy Games |
 | Angels Fall First | $17.99 | 3,835 81% | 115k | $2.1M (exactly $2,069,749) | Strangely Interactive Ltd | |
 | Executive Assault 2 | older | $24.99 | 1,604 82% | 48k | $1.2M (exactly $1,202,519) | Hesketh Studios Ltd |
 | Genesis Alpha One Deluxe Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,566 73% | 47k | $939k (exactly $939,130) | Radiation Blue |
 | Quantum Void | $11.99 | 69 95% | 2.1k | $25k (exactly $24,819) | TacNours | |
 | Starfield Battlegrounds | $6.99 | 13 69% | 390 | $2.7k (exactly $2,726) | 谭浩翔 | |
 | Starship Fighters: Space Combat Simulator | · EA | $24.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $1.5k (exactly $1,499) | Hard Shark Games |
 | Spiritus Astrum | · EA | $4.99 | 8 62% | 240 | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) | Phoenix Game Development |
 | Hyper Tunnel | $9.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $899 (exactly $899) | Gyxos | |
 | Meteor Expedition | · EA | $7.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $479 (exactly $479) | GQ |
 | Handgun Football | $3.99 | 4 50% | 120 | $479 (exactly $479) | )erek( | |
 | Spaceship Pro Simulator | · EA | $8.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $270 (exactly $270) | Hard Shark Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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