Do I ship it?

Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Space Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Sim Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Space Sim

Only 14 developers shipped a Space Sim Looter Shooter 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, Wildgate, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $4.5M, ×3022 the market median. Revenue is up 725% on the market; 26 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 725% on the market, 26 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Space Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $0 → $269 → $35k → $6.9k (still earning) → $1.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Space Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,499)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $14,748)
Top 5% $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 40
Announced 26
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 725% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Looter Shooter
effort 8 / 10 · low · online co-op and a loot economy on top of a shooter
Space Sim
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Looter Shooter, Space Sim
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 5,333 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $4.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 26 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Looter Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MechsFair13 devs · median $219k · 14 announced
  2. + Vehicular CombatFair11 devs · median $15k · 14 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  4. + 3D PlatformerLong shot23 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds31 devs · median $71k · 73 announced
  6. + Online Co-OpPoor odds54 devs · median $25k · 136 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds56 devs · median $25k · 124 announced
  8. + Twin Stick ShooterPoor odds18 devs · median $16k · 44 announced
  9. + DystopianPoor odds14 devs · median $10k · 45 announced
  10. + Base BuildingPoor odds36 devs · median $9.1k · 74 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds50 devs · median $9.0k · 151 announced
  12. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds27 devs · median $6.9k · 61 announced

All 90 pairs on the Looter Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Marauders 2022 · EA · $12M Wildgate 2025 · $4.5M Starpoint Gemini 3 2020 · $683k Power of Ten 2023 · $89k Deep Space Exploitation 2025 · $35k
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
Wildgate $29.99 5,032 77% 151k $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) Moonshot Games
Starpoint Gemini 3 older $29.99 759 49% 23k $683k (exactly $682,872) Little Green Men Games
Power of Ten older $11.99 248 79% 7.4k $89k (exactly $89,206) Pew Times Three
Deep Space Exploitation $8.99 131 96% 3.9k $35k (exactly $35,331) JuhrJuhr
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
Space Killer older $7.99 46 73% 1.4k $11k (exactly $11,026) Two friends, VIWESA GAMES
Mecha Harem: Bonds of the Abyss $9.99 34 73% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Morexingame
TuHou Remilia - Begin Of Scarlet Family older $6.99 33 9% 990 $6.9k (exactly $6,920) CoKe_Deer
Wrath and Retribution $9.99 23 91% 690 $6.9k (exactly $6,893) Mad Vulture Games
Starship Fighters: Space Combat Simulator · EA $24.99 2 0% 60 $1.5k (exactly $1,499) Hard Shark Games
Ore Bastards · EA $8.99 4 75% 120 $1.1k (exactly $1,079) INDIELLIGENT
Red Siren: Space Defense $14.99 2 50% 60 $899 (exactly $899) ISTOM Games
GeoLight $2.99 2 0% 60 $179 (exactly $179) Howling Wolf Games Inc.

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