Should I ship a Modern-Day Loot game?
Loot + Modern
Only 15 developers shipped a Modern-Day 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, Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 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 $2.2k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $7.0M, ×11185 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 22 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $897 (exactly $897) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) |
| Top 25% | $178k (exactly $177,722) |
| Top 5% | $7.0M (exactly $7,024,244) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 15 |
| Released games | 42 |
| Announced | 22 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 26%, 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Loot; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, FPS
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 9,036 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Loot with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds
- + Local Co-OpStrong odds
- + SteampunkStrong odds
- + CapitalismFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + JRPGFair
- + EconomyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + CatsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition 2026 · $7.0M 
Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes 2026 · $864k 
Project L33T: Founders Edition 2026 · $315k 
大千世界 2020 · $274k 
UNDERWARD 2025 · $178k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Diablo II: Resurrected – Infernal Edition | $39.99 | 5,855 86% | 176k | $7.0M (exactly $7,024,244) | Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. | |
| | Ukrainian Warfare: Gostomel Heroes | $14.99 | 1,921 90% | 58k | $864k (exactly $863,874) | Cats Who Play | |
| | Project L33T: Founders Edition | $19.99 | 525 47% | 16k | $315k (exactly $314,842) | Targetpoint Interactive, Holmgard Games | |
| | 大千世界 | older | $3.99 | 2,289 86% | 69k | $274k (exactly $273,993) | 滑稽工作室 |
| | UNDERWARD | $9.99 | 593 73% | 18k | $178k (exactly $177,722) | INTENSE | |
 | Dollar | older | $0.99 | 1,051 79% | 32k | $31k (exactly $31,215) | DollarDev |
 | Art Shop Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 79 91% | 2.4k | $31k (exactly $30,786) | Lovheim Studios |
 | Seven Cities | · EA | $14.99 | 32 87% | 960 | $14k (exactly $14,390) | IMV Studio |
 | Dr. Professor Scientist's Weapons Testing Facility | older | $4.99 | 48 77% | 1.4k | $7.2k (exactly $7,186) | Cool Smithy Games |
 | Mushroom Picker Simulator | older | $3.99 | 56 39% | 1.7k | $6.7k (exactly $6,703) | Poroshin Develop |
 | Condemned to Clean | $5.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $2.3k (exactly $2,336) | KOMA | |
 | The Girl Who Kicked a Rabbit | $14.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) | takunomi | |
 | NECRONOMICAT | $4.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $1.5k (exactly $1,497) | GROOVY GORY GAMES | |
 | Grid Warriors: Battles | $9.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $899 (exactly $899) | Junjo |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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