Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Sci-fi
Of 82 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 287 more are announced, ×7.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×9.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $610k, ×1286 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 287 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $838 (exactly $838) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) |
| Top 25% | $57k (exactly $56,681) |
| Top 5% | $611k (exactly $610,693) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 82 |
| Released games | 316 |
| Announced | 287 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 down 65% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Sci-fi
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Metroidvania; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Adventure
- Price point
- $10.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 14,822 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $840. 7 in 10 of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 287 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.2 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
STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order™ 2019 · $184M 
CONTROL Ultimate Edition 2020 · $61M 
Nine Sols 2024 · $36M 
CARRION 2020 · $20M 
Hyper Light Drifter 2016 · $9.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order™ | older | $39.99 | 153,782 88% | 4.6M | $184M (exactly $184,492,265) | Respawn Entertainment |
| | CONTROL Ultimate Edition | older | $39.99 | 50,602 86% | 1.5M | $61M (exactly $60,707,219) | Remedy Entertainment |
| | Nine Sols | older | $29.99 | 40,138 94% | 1.2M | $36M (exactly $36,112,159) | RedCandleGames |
| | CARRION | older | $19.99 | 33,270 94% | 998k | $20M (exactly $19,952,019) | Phobia Game Studio |
| | Hyper Light Drifter | older | $19.99 | 15,548 93% | 466k | $9.3M (exactly $9,324,136) | Heart Machine |
 | ICEY | older | $10.99 | 25,142 89% | 754k | $8.3M (exactly $8,289,317) | FantaBlade Network |
 | Antichamber | older | $19.99 | 13,656 95% | 410k | $8.2M (exactly $8,189,503) | Alexander Bruce |
 | Journey To The Savage Planet | older | $29.99 | 5,674 87% | 170k | $5.1M (exactly $5,104,898) | Typhoon |
 | Mega Man 11 | older | $29.99 | 4,312 89% | 129k | $3.9M (exactly $3,879,506) | CAPCOM CO., LTD. |
 | The Gunk | older | $24.99 | 4,744 86% | 142k | $3.6M (exactly $3,556,577) | Image & Form Games |
 | MIO: Memories in Orbit | $19.99 | 4,300 83% | 129k | $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) | Douze Dixièmes | |
 | Revenge of the Savage Planet | $29.99 | 2,845 86% | 85k | $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) | Raccoon Logic Studios Inc. | |
 | System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster | $29.99 | 1,803 87% | 54k | $1.6M (exactly $1,622,159) | Nightdive Studios, Looking Glass Studio… (Nightdive Studios, Looking Glass Studios, Irrational Games) | |
 | Kotama and Academy Citadel | $19.99 | 2,542 80% | 76k | $1.5M (exactly $1,524,437) | Atomstring Games | |
 | BLADECHIMERA | $14.99 | 1,358 88% | 41k | $611k (exactly $610,693) | Team Ladybug, WSS playground | |
 | Zexion | $19.99 | 528 90% | 16k | $317k (exactly $316,642) | Gallant Leaf | |
 | Haydee 3 | $29.99 | 321 84% | 9.6k | $289k (exactly $288,804) | Haydee Interactive | |
 | Kong: Survivor Instinct | $24.99 | 338 71% | 10k | $253k (exactly $253,399) | 7Levels | |
 | Shadow Labyrinth | $29.99 | 277 54% | 8.3k | $249k (exactly $249,217) | Bandai Namco Studios Inc. | |
 | BAIONLENJA | · EA | $12.99 | 510 97% | 15k | $199k (exactly $198,747) | BAION |
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.