Do I ship it?

GamesProcedural GenerationProcedural Generation + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech Procedural Generation game?

Procedural Generation + Mechs

Only 17 developers shipped a Mech Procedural Generation 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, Wall World 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 43 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×1002 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 43 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 43 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Procedural Generation + 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: $16k → $106k → $67k → $2.2k → $23k → $119 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Procedural Generation + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,679)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $23,181)
Top 5% $629k (exactly $629,115)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 67
Announced 43
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 75% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Procedural Generation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Procedural Generation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Roguelike, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D, Side Scroller
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 3,568 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $620k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Procedural Generation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SnowFair11 devs · median $3.0k · 16 announced
  2. + Traditional RoguelikeFair71 devs · median $2.0k · 93 announced
  3. + DetectiveFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced
  4. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  5. + TypingFair26 devs · median $1.1k · 11 announced
  6. + IdlerFair98 devs · median $807 · 107 announced
  7. + LogicFair137 devs · median $478 · 149 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair57 devs · median $449 · 62 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair58 devs · median $418 · 56 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds31 devs · median $77k · 95 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds22 devs · median $30k · 35 announced

All 222 pairs on the Procedural Generation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Into the Breach older $14.99 19,000 94% 570k $8.5M (exactly $8,544,300) Subset Games
Wall World older $6.99 11,353 90% 341k $2.4M (exactly $2,380,724) Alawar
Star Renegades older $24.99 2,673 82% 80k $2.0M (exactly $2,003,948) Massive Damage, Inc.
Wall World 2 $11.99 1,749 73% 52k $629k (exactly $629,115) Alawar
CRYPTARK older $14.99 912 83% 27k $410k (exactly $410,126) Alientrap
Mech Armada older $19.99 653 81% 20k $392k (exactly $391,604) Lioncode Games
Swarm Grinder older $7.99 1,163 76% 35k $279k (exactly $278,771) Last Bite Games
Mining Mechs older $2.99 2,577 89% 77k $231k (exactly $231,157) Delayed Victory
Mind older $17.99 372 69% 11k $201k (exactly $200,768) WHIRLLAXY LIMITED
Evospace · EA older $14.99 353 83% 11k $159k (exactly $158,744) Quantum Rivet
Super Mining Mechs $4.99 841 86% 25k $126k (exactly $125,898) Delayed Victory
Mining Merchant $6.99 410 88% 12k $86k (exactly $85,977) Delayed Victory
TOP DOG $9.99 263 88% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,821) MorfeoDev
ARC SEED $14.99 89 74% 2.7k $40k (exactly $40,023) Massive Galaxy Studios
Ocean Keeper Co-op Drill Multiplayer $5.99 129 75% 3.9k $23k (exactly $23,181) RetroStyle Games
INSANIO $9.99 48 66% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,386) somebody
M.O.O.D.S. $12.99 29 82% 870 $11k (exactly $11,301) StickyStoneStudio
Planet Miners $11.99 6 50% 180 $2.2k (exactly $2,158) Moon Ice Games
MegaBattle $13.99 4 100% 120 $1.7k (exactly $1,679) MadCat Corp, Cavylabs

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