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Should I ship a Robot Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Robots
Of 26 developers who shipped a Robot 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.. 61 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×504 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 61 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) |
| Top 25% | $49k (exactly $49,017) |
| Top 5% | $317k (exactly $316,642) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 107 |
| Announced | 61 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 40% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Robots
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,330 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mega Man 11 | older | $29.99 | 4,312 89% | 129k | $3.9M (exactly $3,879,506) | CAPCOM CO., LTD. |
| | SteamWorld Dig 2 | older | $19.99 | 5,700 95% | 171k | $3.4M (exactly $3,418,290) | Image & Form Games |
| | Haydee | older | $14.99 | 6,226 84% | 187k | $2.8M (exactly $2,799,832) | Haydee Interactive |
| | MIO: Memories in Orbit | $19.99 | 4,300 83% | 129k | $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) | Douze Dixièmes | |
| | Mega Man X Legacy Collection | older | $19.99 | 4,033 79% | 121k | $2.4M (exactly $2,418,590) | CAPCOM CO., LTD |
| | Caravan SandWitch | older | $24.99 | 2,797 88% | 84k | $2.1M (exactly $2,096,911) | Studio Plane Toast |
| | Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection | older | $29.99 | 2,319 76% | 70k | $2.1M (exactly $2,086,404) | CAPCOM CO., LTD. |
| | SteamWorld Dig | older | $9.99 | 6,509 94% | 195k | $2.0M (exactly $1,950,747) | Image & Form Games |
| | Haiku, the Robot | older | $19.99 | 2,576 90% | 77k | $1.5M (exactly $1,544,827) | Mister Morris Games |
| | ReCore: Definitive Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,441 62% | 43k | $864k (exactly $864,168) | Armature Studio, LLC, Comcept |
| | Zexion | $19.99 | 528 90% | 16k | $317k (exactly $316,642) | Gallant Leaf | |
| | BAIONLENJA | · EA | $12.99 | 510 97% | 15k | $199k (exactly $198,747) | BAION |
| | MotionRec | $9.99 | 430 99% | 13k | $129k (exactly $128,871) | HANDSUM | |
| | Clockwork Ambrosia | $19.99 | 133 84% | 4.0k | $80k (exactly $79,760) | Realmsoft | |
| | ROLLING STAR | $11.99 | 216 96% | 6.5k | $78k (exactly $77,695) | NUL2 STUDIO | |
| | Super Roboy | $14.99 | 109 93% | 3.3k | $49k (exactly $49,017) | Vincent Penning | |
| | Maseylia : Echoes of the Past | $16.99 | 61 80% | 1.8k | $31k (exactly $31,092) | Sol Brothers | |
| | SELINI | · EA | $19.99 | 25 88% | 750 | $15k (exactly $14,992) | Cymban |
| | NBB.EXE | $19.99 | 18 100% | 540 | $11k (exactly $10,795) | Raptus Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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