Games › Programming › Programming + Futuristic
Should I ship a Futuristic Programming game?
Programming + Futuristic
Only 19 developers shipped a Futuristic Programming 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, U.V.S. Nirmana, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $450. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 25 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $9.3k (exactly $9,348) |
| Top 5% | $96k (exactly $95,786) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 54 |
| Announced | 25 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 275% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 28%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Programming
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Futuristic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Programming; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Automation, Building
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Minimalist, 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 687 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Programming with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Base BuildingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + RogueliteFair
- + SandboxFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Turn-Based TacticsFair
- + SimulationFair
- + RobotsFair
- + CrimeFair
- + Sci-fiFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
The Signal State 2021 · $389k 
Archean 2024 · EA · $145k 
U.V.S. Nirmana 2026 · $96k 
MegaFactory Titan 2026 · $90k 
Bots Are Stupid 2022 · $63k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Signal State | older | $19.99 | 649 86% | 19k | $389k (exactly $389,205) | Reckoner Industries |
| | Archean | · EA older | $19.99 | 241 87% | 7.2k | $145k (exactly $144,528) | batcholi, FloDKSM |
| | U.V.S. Nirmana | $14.99 | 213 88% | 6.4k | $96k (exactly $95,786) | Coincidence | |
| | MegaFactory Titan | $19.99 | 150 76% | 4.5k | $90k (exactly $89,955) | Q Switched Productions, LLC | |
| | Bots Are Stupid | older | $12.99 | 161 77% | 4.8k | $63k (exactly $62,742) | Leander Edler-Golla |
 | The Birth of an Artificial Intelligence | older | $34.99 | 54 77% | 1.6k | $57k (exactly $56,684) | 基本操作PlayClass |
 | Neon Noodles | older | $19.99 | 86 75% | 2.6k | $52k (exactly $51,574) | Vivid Helix |
 | Age Of Warbots | $9.99 | 160 83% | 4.8k | $48k (exactly $47,952) | VDimension | |
 | Hard Chip | · EA | $14.99 | 68 91% | 2.0k | $31k (exactly $30,580) | Elorth |
 | Ego's Spark | older | $14.99 | 52 92% | 1.6k | $23k (exactly $23,384) | Satsuki |
 | Yet Another Incremental Game (but this time about coding) | · EA | $7.99 | 39 71% | 1.2k | $9.3k (exactly $9,348) | Raclette Games |
 | Void Future: Hacking Protocol | $14.99 | 17 88% | 510 | $7.6k (exactly $7,645) | RVL Interactive | |
 | Code, Solve, Revolt! | $11.99 | 21 100% | 630 | $7.6k (exactly $7,554) | Joyful Jo | |
 | GizmoLab VR | $9.99 | 6 83% | 180 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | De Martini Games | |
 | HyperDissonance | $4.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) | meta, autoselff | |
 | Circuit Stance | $9.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | Fluffy Brown |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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