Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Loot
Should I ship a Loot Sandbox?
Sandbox + Loot
Of 73 developers who shipped a Loot Sandbox 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.. 167 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.5k, ×10 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $2.8M, ×4478 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 167 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $898 (exactly $898) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.5k (exactly $6,475) |
| Top 25% | $96k (exactly $95,952) |
| Top 5% | $2.8M (exactly $2,812,114) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 73 |
| Released games | 198 |
| Announced | 167 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 15% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, 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
- Sandbox, Loot; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Crafting, Exploration, RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 57,190 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 167 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
DYSMANTLE 2021 · $6.6M 
RUNNING WITH RIFLES 2015 · $6.6M 
War for the Overworld 2015 · $5.8M 
Farever 2026 · EA · $5.4M 
河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon) 2018 · $5.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DYSMANTLE | older | $19.99 | 11,022 91% | 331k | $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) | 10tons Ltd |
| | RUNNING WITH RIFLES | older | $14.99 | 14,676 87% | 440k | $6.6M (exactly $6,599,797) | Osumia Games |
| | War for the Overworld | older | $29.99 | 6,495 85% | 195k | $5.8M (exactly $5,843,552) | Brightrock Games |
| | Farever | · EA | $19.99 | 8,968 75% | 269k | $5.4M (exactly $5,378,110) | Shiro Games |
| | 河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu ： The Books of Dragon) | older | $17.99 | 9,616 81% | 288k | $5.2M (exactly $5,189,755) | 香港商河洛互動娛樂股份有限公司 |
 | Elin | · EA | $19.99 | 8,406 93% | 252k | $5.0M (exactly $5,041,078) | Lafrontier |
 | 龙胤立志传 | $19.99 | 7,153 77% | 215k | $4.3M (exactly $4,289,654) | TPP Studio | |
 | A Game About Digging A Hole™ | $4.99 | 18,785 89% | 564k | $2.8M (exactly $2,812,114) | DoubleBee | |
 | Pixel Piracy | older | $14.99 | 5,713 65% | 171k | $2.6M (exactly $2,569,136) | Vitali Kirpu |
 | Star Valor | older | $24.99 | 3,272 88% | 98k | $2.5M (exactly $2,453,018) | Rafael Burgos |
 | Tinkerlands | · EA | $12.99 | 3,624 85% | 109k | $1.4M (exactly $1,412,273) | CodeManu, Endless Coffee |
 | Salt 2: Shores of Gold | $19.99 | 2,182 85% | 65k | $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) | Lavaboots Studios | |
 | Planet Centauri | $14.99 | 2,102 75% | 63k | $945k (exactly $945,269) | Permadeath | |
 | Fortune Mill | $7.99 | 3,712 81% | 111k | $890k (exactly $889,766) | Lavaflame2 | |
 | Lay of the Land | $19.99 | 1,190 79% | 36k | $714k (exactly $713,643) | Southern Cross Interactive | |
 | Devil Spire Falls | · EA | $14.99 | 1,068 94% | 32k | $480k (exactly $480,280) | Ithiro Sumi |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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