Do I ship it?

GamesMetroidvaniaMetroidvania + Robots

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 61 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Metroidvania + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $1.3k → $578 → $449 → $199k → $599 → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Metroidvania + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
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.

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.

Metroidvania
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Robots
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $49k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + ParkourPoor odds8 devs · median $80k · 40 announced
  2. + Online Co-OpPoor odds12 devs · median $74k · 15 announced
  3. + CraftingPoor odds10 devs · median $34k · 61 announced
  4. + SimulationPoor odds16 devs · median $32k · 35 announced
  5. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $28k · 29 announced
  6. + CollectathonPoor odds30 devs · median $16k · 78 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 33 announced
  8. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $14k · 46 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds102 devs · median $14k · 335 announced
  10. + VampiresPoor odds16 devs · median $14k · 29 announced
  11. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $14k · 42 announced
  12. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $12k · 37 announced

All 90 pairs on the Metroidvania page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.