Do I ship it?

GamesSpace SimSpace Sim + Military

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Military Space Sim?

Space Sim + Military

Only 18 developers shipped a Military Space Sim 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, Angels Fall First, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 39 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.3k, ×10 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×3296 the market median. Revenue is up 3780% on the market; 39 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 3780% on the market, 39 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Space Sim + Military
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $150 → $45k → $12k → $68k → $6.3k → $1.2k → $26k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Space Sim + Military: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $6.3k (exactly $6,296)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $35,982)
Top 5% $2.1M (exactly $2,069,749)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 71
Announced 39
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $12.99

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 up 3780% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Space Sim
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Military
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Space Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Combat
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 5,689 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $6.3k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $2.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DestructionFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 22 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair9 devs · median $3.6k · 12 announced
  3. + Tactical RPGFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 15 announced
  4. + WarFair34 devs · median $1.3k · 42 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorFair16 devs · median $598 · 20 announced
  6. + SportsFair8 devs · median $479 · 9 announced
  7. + DiplomacyLong shot7 devs · median $360 · 14 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds18 devs · median $4.9k · 63 announced
  9. + Strategy RPGPoor odds8 devs · median $4.9k · 21 announced
  10. + SandboxPoor odds86 devs · median $4.6k · 213 announced
  11. + Colony SimPoor odds42 devs · median $4.6k · 91 announced
  12. + Base BuildingPoor odds67 devs · median $4.5k · 160 announced

All 114 pairs on the Space Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marauders · EA older $29.99 13,505 68% 405k $12M (exactly $12,150,448) Small Impact Games
Sins of a Solar Empire®: Rebellion older $19.99 10,243 93% 307k $6.1M (exactly $6,142,727) Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment)
Star Trek: Infinite older $29.99 3,030 41% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,726,091) Nimble Giant Entertainment
Dune: Imperium older $22.99 3,806 94% 114k $2.6M (exactly $2,624,998) Dire Wolf
Angels Fall First $17.99 3,835 81% 115k $2.1M (exactly $2,069,749) Strangely Interactive Ltd
Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator $34.99 1,319 97% 40k $1.4M (exactly $1,384,554) Lyra Creative
Base One older $24.99 458 36% 14k $343k (exactly $343,363) PixFroze
Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity® older $9.99 687 78% 21k $206k (exactly $205,894) Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment)
BattleGroupVR2 · EA $24.99 209 85% 6.3k $157k (exactly $156,687) SpaceOwl Games
Dust Fleet older $19.99 193 76% 5.8k $116k (exactly $115,742) Orbiting Disco
In The Black · EA $19.99 84 72% 2.5k $50k (exactly $50,375) Impeller Studios
Stellar Wanderer DX $19.99 60 71% 1.8k $36k (exactly $35,982) Dream Builder Studios
Riftborne · EA $7.99 108 91% 3.2k $26k (exactly $25,888) Pitio Productions
Deep Dark Forest $7.99 41 87% 1.2k $9.8k (exactly $9,828) pixiangames
Helicopter Simulator 2025 - Real Flight PC/VR $17.99 14 42% 420 $7.6k (exactly $7,556) Helicopter Simulator
Star Titans : War of the Galaxy $14.99 14 92% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) Mediawork
New Stars $19.99 5 60% 150 $3.0k (exactly $2,998) adamjr

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.