Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science God Game?

God Game + Science

Of 22 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 31 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×522 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 31 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 31 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
God Game + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $99k → $98k → $8.7k → $4.9k → $419 (still earning) → $5.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for God Game + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $360 (exactly $360)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,436)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $32,908)
Top 5% $328k (exactly $328,046)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 60
Announced 31
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 down 95% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Science
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
God Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, Simulation, Life Sim
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Atmospheric, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 3,448 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 $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $320k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 6 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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

SPORE™ 2008 · $40M Universe Sandbox 2015 · EA · $25M The Universim 2024 · $7.6M Stardeus 2022 · EA · $1.3M The Sapling 2019 · EA · $1.0M
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
Stardeus · EA older $29.99 1,430 87% 43k $1.3M (exactly $1,286,571) Kodo Linija
The Sapling · EA older $17.99 1,922 89% 58k $1.0M (exactly $1,037,303) Wessel Stoop
Species: Artificial Life, Real Evolution · EA older $19.99 971 73% 29k $582k (exactly $582,309) Quasar
Fish Game older $24.99 589 93% 18k $442k (exactly $441,573) A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink… (A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink Games)
Ecosystem $19.99 601 76% 18k $360k (exactly $360,420) Tom Johnson
Planetary Life · EA $11.99 912 94% 27k $328k (exactly $328,046) Sotenbox
Terra Firma 2 · EA $19.99 200 92% 6.0k $120k (exactly $119,940) Working as Intended
Nature & Life - Drunk On Nectar $14.99 263 87% 7.9k $118k (exactly $118,271) Venugopalan Sreedharan
ANLIFE: Motion-Learning Life Evolution $13.99 161 83% 4.8k $68k (exactly $67,572) Attructure Inc.
Sandboxels $0.99 1,108 94% 33k $33k (exactly $32,908) R74n
Nuclear Design Bureau · EA $9.99 88 79% 2.6k $26k (exactly $26,374) Design Bureau KB-11
The Fool's Apprentice $16.99 42 52% 1.3k $21k (exactly $21,407) The Planar Danse
ORACLE: Humanity, Automated · EA $9.99 18 44% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) ZANKYO GAMES
The Noble Quran $2.99 55 80% 1.7k $4.9k (exactly $4,934) Quran on Steam

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