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Should I ship a PvE Metroidvania?
PvE + Metroidvania
Of 41 developers who shipped a PvE Metroidvania 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.. 178 more are announced, ×7.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $540k, ×861 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 178 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.0k (exactly $1,977) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,941) |
| Top 5% | $541k (exactly $540,539) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 120 |
| Announced | 178 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 flat on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- PvE
- effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE, Metroidvania; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, 2.5D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 14,017 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 178 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
Windblown 2024 · EA · $6.8M 
Lunacid 2023 · $4.4M 
GRIME II 2026 · $1.6M 
Salt and Sacrifice 2023 · $1.0M 
Little Noah: Scion of Paradise 2022 · $977k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Windblown | · EA | $24.99 | 9,066 88% | 272k | $6.8M (exactly $6,796,780) | Motion Twin |
| | Lunacid | older | $13.99 | 10,371 90% | 311k | $4.4M (exactly $4,352,709) | KIRA LLC |
| | GRIME II | $27.99 | 1,892 86% | 57k | $1.6M (exactly $1,588,712) | Clover Bite | |
| | Salt and Sacrifice | older | $19.99 | 1,738 62% | 52k | $1.0M (exactly $1,042,279) | Devoured Studios, Ska Studios |
| | Little Noah: Scion of Paradise | older | $14.99 | 2,172 92% | 65k | $977k (exactly $976,748) | Cygames, Inc., Grounding Inc. |
 | JUMP KING QUEST | $14.99 | 1,202 88% | 36k | $541k (exactly $540,539) | Nexile | |
 | PowerSlave Exhumed | older | $19.99 | 754 90% | 23k | $452k (exactly $452,174) | Nightdive Studios, Lobotomy Software |
 | Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse | $16.99 | 543 72% | 16k | $277k (exactly $276,767) | Frontside 180 | |
 | The Mobius Machine | older | $19.99 | 442 82% | 13k | $265k (exactly $265,067) | Madruga Works |
 | HOTEL BARCELONA | $29.99 | 269 71% | 8.1k | $242k (exactly $242,019) | White Owls Inc. | |
 | Strange Seed | $14.99 | 431 86% | 13k | $194k (exactly $193,821) | Chronicle Games Ltd | |
 | INAYAH - Life after Gods | $15.99 | 230 71% | 6.9k | $110k (exactly $110,331) | Exogenesis Studios | |
 | Oh So Hero! | $9.99 | 255 94% | 7.7k | $76k (exactly $76,424) | Full Frontal Frog | |
 | Witchroid Vania: A Magical Girl’s Fantastical Adventures | $11.99 | 86 91% | 2.6k | $31k (exactly $30,934) | Turkey Games | |
 | HOPE 01 | · EA | $11.99 | 43 88% | 1.3k | $15k (exactly $15,467) | Bending Boy Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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