Do I ship it?

GamesProcedural GenerationProcedural Generation + Heist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Heist Procedural Generation game?

Procedural Generation + Heist

Only 14 developers shipped a Heist Procedural Generation 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, The Precinct, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 34 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×5.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $7.0M, ×11228 the market median. Revenue is up 720% on the market; 34 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 720% on the market, 34 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Procedural Generation + Heist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $269 → $898 → $3.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Procedural Generation + Heist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $3.4k (exactly $3,418)
Top 25% $268k (exactly $268,021)
Top 5% $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 27
Announced 34
Effort 6 / 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 up 720% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Procedural Generation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Heist
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Procedural Generation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvE, Co-op
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 16,629 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $3.4k, 1 in 4 over $260k, 1 in 20 over $7.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Procedural Generation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SnowFair11 devs · median $3.0k · 16 announced
  2. + Traditional RoguelikeFair71 devs · median $2.0k · 93 announced
  3. + DetectiveFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced
  4. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  5. + TypingFair26 devs · median $1.1k · 11 announced
  6. + IdlerFair98 devs · median $807 · 107 announced
  7. + LogicFair137 devs · median $478 · 149 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair57 devs · median $449 · 62 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair58 devs · median $418 · 56 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds31 devs · median $77k · 95 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds22 devs · median $30k · 35 announced

All 222 pairs on the Procedural Generation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Precinct $29.99 7,837 87% 235k $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) Fallen Tree Games Ltd
112 Operator older $24.99 5,688 88% 171k $4.3M (exactly $4,264,294) Jutsu Games
Burglin' Gnomes $9.99 4,635 83% 139k $1.4M (exactly $1,389,110) Fobri
Dark Hours $9.99 3,481 81% 104k $1.0M (exactly $1,043,256) Piece of Cake studios
Jackal $14.99 596 88% 18k $268k (exactly $268,021) Transhuman Design
The Swindle older $14.99 502 64% 15k $226k (exactly $225,749) Size Five Games
Panther VR · EA older $9.99 100 60% 3.0k $30k (exactly $29,970) Wolfdog Interactive
Unseen Diplomacy older $2.99 154 90% 4.6k $14k (exactly $13,814) Triangular Pixels
The Memory Thieves · EA $6.99 40 80% 1.2k $8.4k (exactly $8,388) Otherside Studio
Burgle Bros. older $3.99 55 83% 1.7k $6.6k (exactly $6,584) Fowers Games
Loot Gobblin' Together $7.99 20 90% 600 $4.8k (exactly $4,794) J6 Games
Unseen Diplomacy 2 $18.99 6 83% 180 $3.4k (exactly $3,418) Triangular Pixels
Cloak And Coin · EA $4.99 6 100% 180 $898 (exactly $898) netDOT
Security Control · EA $4.99 5 60% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Greavette Games
One Last Job $2.99 3 100% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Triple Eye Games

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