Do I ship it?

Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Metroidvania?

Metroidvania + Futuristic

Of 40 developers who shipped a Futuristic Metroidvania 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.. 115 more are announced, ×6.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $610k, ×1286 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 115 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 115 announced, ×6.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Metroidvania + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $2.0k → $1.3k → $9.4k → $2.6k → $5.4k → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Metroidvania + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,941)
Top 5% $611k (exactly $610,693)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 113
Announced 115
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.00

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 55% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Metroidvania
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Futuristic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Metroidvania; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, 2D Platformer
Price point
$9.00 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.00.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 7,547 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $610k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 115 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + ParkourPoor odds8 devs · median $80k · 40 announced
  2. + Online Co-OpPoor odds12 devs · median $74k · 15 announced
  3. + CraftingPoor odds10 devs · median $34k · 61 announced
  4. + SimulationPoor odds16 devs · median $32k · 35 announced
  5. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $28k · 29 announced
  6. + CollectathonPoor odds30 devs · median $16k · 78 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 33 announced
  8. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $14k · 46 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds102 devs · median $14k · 335 announced
  10. + VampiresPoor odds16 devs · median $14k · 29 announced
  11. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $14k · 42 announced
  12. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $12k · 37 announced

All 90 pairs on the Metroidvania page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

ASTLIBRA Revision 2022 · $23M MIO: Memories in Orbit 2026 · $2.6M Caravan SandWitch 2024 · $2.1M Narita Boy 2021 · $871k BLADECHIMERA 2025 · $611k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ASTLIBRA Revision older $24.99 30,262 95% 908k $23M (exactly $22,687,421) KEIZO
MIO: Memories in Orbit $19.99 4,300 83% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) Douze Dixièmes
Caravan SandWitch older $24.99 2,797 88% 84k $2.1M (exactly $2,096,911) Studio Plane Toast
Narita Boy older $24.99 1,162 79% 35k $871k (exactly $871,151) Studio Koba
BLADECHIMERA $14.99 1,358 88% 41k $611k (exactly $610,693) Team Ladybug, WSS playground
Trinity Fusion older $19.99 688 85% 21k $413k (exactly $412,594) Angry Mob Games
Zexion $19.99 528 90% 16k $317k (exactly $316,642) Gallant Leaf
Dusk City older $24.99 385 88% 12k $289k (exactly $288,634) Suteneko Lab.
The Mobius Machine older $19.99 442 82% 13k $265k (exactly $265,067) Madruga Works
Blaster Master Zero 3 older $14.99 461 88% 14k $207k (exactly $207,312) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
BAIONLENJA · EA $12.99 510 97% 15k $199k (exactly $198,747) BAION
INAYAH - Life after Gods $15.99 230 71% 6.9k $110k (exactly $110,331) Exogenesis Studios
Kentum $17.99 172 75% 5.2k $93k (exactly $92,828) Tlön Industries
Clockwork Ambrosia $19.99 133 84% 4.0k $80k (exactly $79,760) Realmsoft
ROLLING STAR $11.99 216 96% 6.5k $78k (exactly $77,695) NUL2 STUDIO
Xanthiom 2 $14.99 69 97% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) MathanGames
Star Rift Saga $14.99 31 96% 930 $14k (exactly $13,941) Studio Vela LLC

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