Games › Local Multiplayer › Local Multiplayer + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Local Multiplayer game?
Local Multiplayer + Sci-fi
Of 104 developers who shipped a Sci-fi Local Multiplayer 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.. 176 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×277 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 176 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,198) |
| Top 5% | $132k (exactly $131,650) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 104 |
| Released games | 455 |
| Announced | 176 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 down 75% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Local Multiplayer
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Sci-fi
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Local Multiplayer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Arcade
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 97% positive over 106,882 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 45 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 176 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Local Multiplayer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + HockeyStrong odds
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Action RPGFair
- + Hex GridFair
- + ModernFair
- + WargameFair
- + TennisFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + SportsFair
- + RunnerFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Split Fiction | $49.99 | 78,378 97% | 2.4M | $118M (exactly $117,543,487) | Hazelight Studios | |
| | Among Us | older | $4.99 | 659,003 92% | 20M | $99M (exactly $98,652,749) | Innersloth |
| | Serious Sam 3: BFE | older | $29.99 | 21,834 87% | 655k | $20M (exactly $19,644,050) | Croteam |
| | Rhythm Doctor | $19.99 | 25,021 98% | 751k | $15M (exactly $15,005,094) | 7th Beat Games | |
| | LEGO® Star Wars™ - The Complete Saga | older | $19.99 | 20,768 96% | 623k | $12M (exactly $12,454,570) | Traveller's Tales |
| | EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 | older | $59.99 | 6,225 69% | 187k | $11M (exactly $11,203,132) | SANDLOT |
| | Sonic Adventure 2 | older | $9.99 | 23,755 90% | 713k | $7.1M (exactly $7,119,374) | SEGA |
| | Awesomenauts | older | $19.99 | 11,822 84% | 355k | $7.1M (exactly $7,089,653) | Ronimo Games |
| | Distance | older | $24.99 | 5,832 93% | 175k | $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) | Refract |
| | GRIP: Combat Racing | older | $29.99 | 3,669 86% | 110k | $3.3M (exactly $3,300,999) | Caged Element |
| | Iron Meat | $19.99 | 982 96% | 29k | $589k (exactly $588,905) | Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware | |
| | Iron Saga VS | $29.99 | 376 79% | 11k | $338k (exactly $338,287) | Gameduchy | |
| | Together: Moon Escape | $9.99 | 868 90% | 26k | $260k (exactly $260,140) | CarlosGameDev | |
| | XF Extreme Formula | $11.99 | 366 90% | 11k | $132k (exactly $131,650) | Feperd Games | |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior (Classic) | $9.99 | 439 74% | 13k | $132k (exactly $131,568) | Kuju Entertainment | |
| | Shape Shifter: Formations | $14.99 | 269 91% | 8.1k | $121k (exactly $120,969) | Castec Studios | |
| | TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials | $39.99 | 93 78% | 2.8k | $112k (exactly $111,572) | 3DClouds | |
| | Chip ‘n Clawz vs. The Brainioids | $29.99 | 90 83% | 2.7k | $81k (exactly $80,973) | Snapshot Games Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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