Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Metroidvania
Should I ship a Metroidvania Sandbox?
Sandbox + Metroidvania
Only 5 developers shipped a Metroidvania Sandbox 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, RUBATO, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 26 more are announced, ×8.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $34k against a market of $630. 26 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $17k (exactly $16,815) |
|---|---|
| Median | $34k (exactly $34,183) |
| Top 25% | $156k (exactly $155,800) |
| Top 5% | $264k (exactly $264,468) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 5 |
| Released games | 34 |
| Announced | 26 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $10.99 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 50% 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.
- Sandbox
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- 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
- Sandbox, Metroidvania
- Price point
- $10.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 64,568 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $17k. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×8.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition 2012 · $34M 
SteamWorld Dig 2013 · $2.0M 
RUBATO 2026 · $264k 
Super Dungeon Maker 2023 · $233k 
Superhero Simulator 2025 · EA · $156k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition | older | $19.99 | 55,935 95% | 1.7M | $34M (exactly $33,544,219) | Rocksteady Studios |
| | SteamWorld Dig | older | $9.99 | 6,509 94% | 195k | $2.0M (exactly $1,950,747) | Image & Form Games |
| | RUBATO | $19.99 | 441 97% | 13k | $264k (exactly $264,468) | dconn | |
| | Super Dungeon Maker | older | $19.99 | 388 82% | 12k | $233k (exactly $232,684) | FIRECHICK |
| | Superhero Simulator | · EA | $5.99 | 867 73% | 26k | $156k (exactly $155,800) | mightyraccoon! Studios |
 | Treasures of the Aegean | older | $19.99 | 82 86% | 2.5k | $49k (exactly $49,175) | Undercoders |
 | Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity | older | $19.99 | 78 100% | 2.3k | $47k (exactly $46,777) | Sam Atlas |
 | Yuma Nest | · EA | $19.99 | 57 89% | 1.7k | $34k (exactly $34,183) | Piokou |
 | Arcane Assembly | older | $7.99 | 134 72% | 4.0k | $32k (exactly $32,120) | Isaac Lee |
 | Cybermotion | · EA older | $7.99 | 77 80% | 2.3k | $18k (exactly $18,457) | Lukayson |
 | Space Sprouts | $10.99 | 51 96% | 1.5k | $17k (exactly $16,815) | Schleuder Games | |
 | Legend of Hiraq | $8.99 | 8 100% | 240 | $2.2k (exactly $2,158) | Devai |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.