Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Souls-like?

Souls-like + Futuristic

Of 24 developers who shipped a Futuristic Souls-like 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.. 37 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.2k, ×3.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $59M, ×39508 the market median. Revenue is up 2145% on the market; 37 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 2145% on the market, 37 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.1k → $413k → $330 → $11k → $2.6k → $45k → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $5.2k (exactly $5,248)
Top 25% $1.5M (exactly $1,451,874)
Top 5% $59M (exactly $59,183,134)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 75
Announced 37
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 2145% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 109,755 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $5.2k, 1 in 4 over $1.4M, 1 in 20 over $59M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™ 2023 · $121M Stellar Blade™ 2025 · $110M PRAGMATA 2026 · $59M SCARLET NEXUS 2021 · $25M Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ 2022 · $23M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™ older $59.99 66,987 91% 2.0M $121M (exactly $120,556,504) FromSoftware, Inc.
Stellar Blade™ $59.99 61,289 93% 1.8M $110M (exactly $110,301,813) SHIFT UP Corporation
PRAGMATA $59.99 32,885 96% 987k $59M (exactly $59,183,134) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
SCARLET NEXUS older $59.99 13,749 81% 412k $25M (exactly $24,744,075) BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ older $39.39 19,507 94% 585k $23M (exactly $23,051,422) SEGA
Bright Memory: Infinite older $19.99 36,229 91% 1.1M $22M (exactly $21,726,531) FYQD-Studio
Echoes of Aincrad $69.99 4,108 47% 123k $8.6M (exactly $8,625,568) Game Studio Inc.
The Surge older $14.99 9,161 75% 275k $4.1M (exactly $4,119,702) Deck13
MIO: Memories in Orbit $19.99 4,300 83% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) Douze Dixièmes
Lost Soul Aside™ $59.99 1,307 59% 39k $2.4M (exactly $2,352,208) Ultizero Games
Dolls Nest $19.99 2,421 88% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,451,874) NITRO PLUS
Morbid Metal · EA $17.99 1,555 81% 47k $839k (exactly $839,233) SCREEN JUICE
Desktop Defender $4.99 1,757 92% 53k $263k (exactly $263,023) Conradical Games
Liuyin's world $18.99 79 89% 2.4k $45k (exactly $45,006) kingnagame
Robots at Midnight $19.99 54 79% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Finish Line Games

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