Do I ship it?

GamesOpen WorldOpen World + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech Open World game?

Open World + Mechs

Only 17 developers shipped a Mech Open World 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, Horizon Zero Dawn™ Remastered, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×1.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $10M, ×6868 the market median. Revenue is up 2585% on the market; 31 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 2585% on the market, 31 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Mechs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $179 → $1.8M → $126k → $1.2k → $2.7k → $358k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,726)
Top 25% $358k (exactly $358,081)
Top 5% $10M (exactly $10,287,942)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 57
Announced 31
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $11.99

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 2585% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low 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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Open World; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Character Customization, Combat
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 65% positive over 24,849 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $350k, 1 in 20 over $10M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 6 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Generation Zero® older $24.99 29,115 75% 873k $22M (exactly $21,827,516) Systemic Reaction™
Horizon Zero Dawn™ Remastered $49.99 6,860 84% 206k $10M (exactly $10,287,942) Guerrilla Games, Nixxes Software
SAND: Raiders of Sophie · EA $24.99 12,485 49% 375k $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) Hologryph, TowerHaus
The Surge 2 older $29.99 7,477 75% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,727,057) Deck13
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel older $39.99 5,131 94% 154k $6.2M (exactly $6,155,661) Nihon Falcom
Chained Echoes older $24.99 7,713 88% 231k $5.8M (exactly $5,782,436) Umami Tiger (Matthias Linda)
The Surge older $14.99 9,161 75% 275k $4.1M (exactly $4,119,702) Deck13
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion $69.99 1,838 63% 55k $3.9M (exactly $3,859,249) Marvelous Inc.
Lightyear Frontier · EA older $24.99 4,257 83% 128k $3.2M (exactly $3,191,473) FRAME BREAK
CryoFall older $19.99 4,905 78% 147k $2.9M (exactly $2,941,528) AtomicTorch Studio
Psycho Patrol R · EA $39.99 2,090 88% 63k $2.5M (exactly $2,507,373) Consumer Softproducts
NITRO GEN OMEGA $29.99 398 83% 12k $358k (exactly $358,081) DESTINYbit
Chaos Front $19.99 252 59% 7.6k $151k (exactly $151,124) Han Zhiyu
Super Mining Mechs $4.99 841 86% 25k $126k (exactly $125,898) Delayed Victory
Animalkind · EA $19.99 68 91% 2.0k $41k (exactly $40,780) Uncommon Games
Ark of Trisolar (三体方舟) $6.99 13 92% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) Binary Studio
Oath of Steel $18.99 4 0% 120 $2.3k (exactly $2,279) Ling Jun

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