Do I ship it?

GamesGod GameGod Game + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi God Game?

God Game + Sci-fi

Of 26 developers who shipped a Sci-fi God Game 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.. 42 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×394 the market median. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 42 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 120% on the market, 42 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
God Game + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.9k → $208 → $359 → $1.3k → $12k → $898 (still earning) → $360 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for God Game + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $360 (exactly $360)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,332)
Top 25% $6.8k (exactly $6,823)
Top 5% $247k (exactly $247,460)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 80
Announced 42
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 120% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

God Game
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Sci-fi
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
God Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Simulation, Incremental
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,308 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $6.8k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + HistoricalFair19 devs · median $12k · 28 announced
  2. + EconomyFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  3. + PuzzleFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  4. + Inventory ManagementFair16 devs · median $1.1k · 15 announced
  5. + DestructionFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  6. + DystopianFair14 devs · median $898 · 10 announced
  7. + IdlerFair91 devs · median $839 · 95 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair79 devs · median $807 · 71 announced
  9. + ArcadeLong shot17 devs · median $390 · 20 announced
  10. + Farming SimLong shot22 devs · median $359 · 24 announced
  11. + AgricultureLong shot9 devs · median $180 · 7 announced
  12. + Base BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $28k · 77 announced

All 96 pairs on the God Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SPORE™ older $19.99 66,871 92% 2.0M $40M (exactly $40,102,539) Maxis™
Universe Sandbox · EA older $29.99 27,843 96% 835k $25M (exactly $25,050,347) Giant Army
The Universim older $29.99 8,465 79% 254k $7.6M (exactly $7,615,960) Crytivo
SPORE™ Galactic Adventures older $19.99 7,249 89% 217k $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) EA - Maxis
Stardeus · EA older $29.99 1,430 87% 43k $1.3M (exactly $1,286,571) Kodo Linija
SPORE™ Creepy & Cute Parts Pack older $19.99 2,053 89% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,231,184) Maxis™
Megaton Rainfall older $15.99 2,155 71% 65k $1.0M (exactly $1,033,754) Pentadimensional Games, SL
The Fermi Paradox · EA older $18.99 956 76% 29k $545k (exactly $544,633) Anomaly Games
Solar 2 older $9.99 1,574 91% 47k $472k (exactly $471,728) Murudai
Ecosystem $19.99 601 76% 18k $360k (exactly $360,420) Tom Johnson
Inquisitor’s Heart and Soul $12.99 635 80% 19k $247k (exactly $247,460) Whale Rock Games
FEED THE AI $5.99 557 90% 17k $100k (exactly $100,093) Weird Kid Games
Decade $9.99 129 96% 3.9k $39k (exactly $38,661) Last Piscean
Once Upon The Universe · EA $14.99 32 93% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) Paweł Witkowski ByteEncode
Anomaly Evolution $1.99 205 73% 6.2k $12k (exactly $12,238) TentaclesGames
Galactic Simulator2: Stargate $5.99 42 78% 1.3k $7.5k (exactly $7,547) PcZ Games
Inspiral: Echoes of Gravity $3.99 57 73% 1.7k $6.8k (exactly $6,823) PcZ Games
Rogue AI: Idle Domination $5.99 26 96% 780 $4.7k (exactly $4,672) Nerdook Productions
StarShip-DF · EA $5.99 24 100% 720 $4.3k (exactly $4,313) 四哥

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