Games › Space Sim › Space Sim + God Game
Should I ship a God Game Space Sim?
Space Sim + God Game
Only 10 developers shipped a God Game Space Sim 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, Once Upon The Universe, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $14k, ×23 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 19 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) |
| Top 5% | $14k (exactly $14,390) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 10 |
| Released games | 31 |
| Announced | 19 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 80% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Space Sim, God Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Sandbox, Strategy
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 226 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 19 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Space Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DestructionFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + WarFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + SportsFair
- + DiplomacyLong shot
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Strategy RPGPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
Comparable games
Universe Sandbox 2015 · EA · $25M 
Stardeus 2022 · EA · $1.3M 
The Fermi Paradox 2021 · EA · $545k 
Solar 2 2011 · $472k 
Heliopedia 2021 · $30k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Universe Sandbox | · EA older | $29.99 | 27,843 96% | 835k | $25M (exactly $25,050,347) | Giant Army |
| | Stardeus | · EA older | $29.99 | 1,430 87% | 43k | $1.3M (exactly $1,286,571) | Kodo Linija |
| | 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 |
| | Heliopedia | older | $4.99 | 199 86% | 6.0k | $30k (exactly $29,790) | Sokpop Collective |
 | Trappist | older | $14.99 | 63 88% | 1.9k | $28k (exactly $28,331) | Sirrah |
 | Once Upon The Universe | · EA | $14.99 | 32 93% | 960 | $14k (exactly $14,390) | Paweł Witkowski ByteEncode |
 | soul Interface | · EA | $12.99 | 25 76% | 750 | $9.7k (exactly $9,742) | soulless technologies |
 | 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 | |
 | A Game About Getting Bigger | $3.99 | 16 87% | 480 | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) | PcZ Games | |
 | Stellar Industrialist | $2.99 | 18 88% | 540 | $1.6k (exactly $1,615) | PcZ Games | |
 | My Little Cosmos | $1.99 | 18 88% | 540 | $1.1k (exactly $1,075) | PcZ Games | |
 | Civilization Survivor | $2.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $987 (exactly $987) | 缘码游戏工作室 | |
 | System Ascension: Idle Core | $4.99 | 6 16% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | Studio Rouleau Inc | |
 | GalactiWar - Empire Simulator | $11.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $360 (exactly $360) | Silver |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.