Do I ship it?

Games › Loot › Loot + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech Loot game?

Loot + Mechs

Only 13 developers shipped a Mech Loot 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, SAND: Raiders of Sophie, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $25k, ×40 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.3M, ×14904 the market median. Revenue is up 11835% on the market; 25 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 40.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 11835% on the market, 25 announced, ×5.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + Mechs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $379k → $117k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $2.2k (exactly $2,158)
Median $25k (exactly $25,387)
Top 25% $379k (exactly $378,647)
Top 5% $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 26
Announced 25
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $10.99

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 11835% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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.

Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Mechs
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
Loot; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Action Roguelike
Price point
$10.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.

The top 10 games average 57% positive over 18,672 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.2k, median $25k, 1 in 4 over $370k, 1 in 20 over $9.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.2k. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds28 devs · median $19k · 22 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  3. + SteampunkStrong odds7 devs · median $2.2k · 10 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair36 devs · median $14k · 52 announced
  5. + Turn-Based StrategyFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  6. + JRPGFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  7. + EconomyFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  8. + IdlerFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  9. + CatsFair17 devs · median $3.4k · 24 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  11. + Creature CollectorFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair90 devs · median $1.9k · 95 announced

All 159 pairs on the Loot page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

SAND: Raiders of Sophie 2026 · EA · $9.4M DAEMON X MACHINA 2020 · $9.3M Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion 2025 · $3.9M R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program 2026 · $1.2M Granvir 2025 · $379k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SAND: Raiders of Sophie · EA $24.99 12,485 49% 375k $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) Hologryph, TowerHaus
DAEMON X MACHINA older $49.99 6,172 85% 185k $9.3M (exactly $9,256,148) Marvelous Inc.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion $69.99 1,838 63% 55k $3.9M (exactly $3,859,249) Marvelous Inc.
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
Granvir $14.99 842 90% 25k $379k (exactly $378,647) Airborne Games
RIG Riot $19.99 195 94% 5.9k $117k (exactly $116,941) Sage Boatman
Demon Hunt · EA $6.99 460 77% 14k $96k (exactly $96,462) Massive Hug
Trident's Wake older $14.99 82 42% 2.5k $37k (exactly $36,875) Bacus Studios
Try to survive Today · EA $10.99 77 68% 2.3k $25k (exactly $25,387) VIVA
Replik Survivors older $4.99 70 72% 2.1k $10k (exactly $10,479) Deep Sea Cat
Mech Shuffle $9.99 19 94% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) PillBugGames
MINERALS: Deep Core Mining $6.99 23 78% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) THINK & FEEL
Planet Miners $11.99 6 50% 180 $2.2k (exactly $2,158) Moon Ice Games

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