Games › Space Sim › Space Sim + Loot
Should I ship a Loot Space Sim?
Space Sim + Loot
Only 12 developers shipped a Loot Space Sim 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, Vanguard Galaxy, 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, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×243 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $18,581) |
| Top 5% | $152k (exactly $152,380) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 27 |
| Announced | 25 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 400% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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
- Space Sim, Loot
- Price point
- $8.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 797 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 25 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Space Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DestructionFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + WarFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + SportsFair
- + DiplomacyLong shot
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Strategy RPGPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Marauders | · EA older | $29.99 | 13,505 68% | 405k | $12M (exactly $12,150,448) | Small Impact Games |
| | Star Valor | older | $24.99 | 3,272 88% | 98k | $2.5M (exactly $2,453,018) | Rafael Burgos |
| | Space industrial empire | older | $5.99 | 1,022 85% | 31k | $184k (exactly $183,653) | 游戏养家工作室 |
| | Vanguard Galaxy | · EA | $8.99 | 565 90% | 17k | $152k (exactly $152,380) | Bat Roost Games |
| | Warspace 2 | $17.99 | 83 59% | 2.5k | $45k (exactly $44,795) | Magic Game Art | |
| | Catharage | $9.99 | 62 82% | 1.9k | $19k (exactly $18,581) | Björn Michalski | |
| | Omen | $11.99 | 41 85% | 1.2k | $15k (exactly $14,748) | Codex Interactive LLC | |
| | Mars Rover Simulator | older | $19.99 | 24 25% | 720 | $14k (exactly $14,393) | DexterCoding |
| | Space Killer | older | $7.99 | 46 73% | 1.4k | $11k (exactly $11,026) | Two friends, VIWESA GAMES |
| | Wrath and Retribution | $9.99 | 23 91% | 690 | $6.9k (exactly $6,893) | Mad Vulture Games | |
| | A Game About Getting Bigger | $3.99 | 16 87% | 480 | $1.9k (exactly $1,915) | PcZ Games | |
| | Infinite Empire | · EA | $14.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $899 (exactly $899) | Better Tools LLC |
| | Relative Frame | $5.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $359 (exactly $359) | pangolin studios | |
| | GeoLight | $2.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $179 (exactly $179) | Howling Wolf Games Inc. | |
| | D.I.G. — Discover Infinite Galaxies | · EA | $4.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | BloomSpaceGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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