Do I ship it?

Games › MMORPG › MMORPG + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space MMORPG?

MMORPG + Space

Only 3 developers shipped a paid Space MMORPG in the last 2 years. Over 4 years, 5 did: 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.. 6 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 30 more are announced, ×15 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 10 / 10 build.

Only 2 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $3.3k against a market of $1.3k. 30 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 30 announced, ×15 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
MMORPG + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 4 yr n = 5

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for MMORPG + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 4 yr, n = 5
Bottom 30% $3.3k (exactly $3,293)
Median $31k (exactly $31,036)
Top 25% $42k (exactly $42,150)
Top 5% $720k (exactly $719,760)
Developers, 4 yr 5
Released games 33
Announced 30
Effort 10 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 61%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

MMORPG
effort 10 / 10 · low · persistent world servers and a live economy
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
10 / 10 · studio only
Systems
MMORPG
Price point
$6.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 4 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 3,563 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 4 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.3k, median $31k, 1 in 4 over $42k, 1 in 20 over $710k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.3k. 30 games are announced against 2 developers who shipped in the last year, ×15 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + LootPoor odds8 devs · median $253k · 57 announced
  2. + TradingPoor odds6 devs · median $206k · 42 announced
  3. + SandboxPoor odds15 devs · median $144k · 107 announced
  4. + Dungeon CrawlerPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  5. + CraftingPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  6. + MagicPoor odds11 devs · median $111k · 109 announced
  7. + Online Co-OpPoor odds15 devs · median $65k · 130 announced
  8. + FantasyPoor odds27 devs · median $61k · 232 announced
  9. + Class-BasedPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds33 devs · median $52k · 252 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds28 devs · median $52k · 217 announced
  12. + ExplorationPoor odds24 devs · median $52k · 213 announced

All 71 pairs on the MMORPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Boundless 2018 · $966k STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions 2026 · EA · $720k SPACERIFT: Arcanum System 2020 · EA · $160k Hamlet or the Last Game without MMORPG Features, Shaders and Product Placement 2012 · $51k The Infinite Black 2 2023 · $42k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Boundless older $19.99 1,611 73% 48k $966k (exactly $966,117) Monumental, LLC
STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions · EA $29.99 800 56% 24k $720k (exactly $719,760) System Era Softworks
SPACERIFT: Arcanum System · EA older $12.90 413 77% 12k $160k (exactly $159,831) Arcanum Team
Hamlet or the Last Game without MMORPG Features, Shaders and Product Placement older $4.99 342 66% 10k $51k (exactly $51,197) Denis Galanin (mif2000)
The Infinite Black 2 older $6.99 201 87% 6.0k $42k (exactly $42,150) Spellbook
Para Ark older $6.99 148 91% 4.4k $31k (exactly $31,036) ST Hot Dog King
Rise - The Vieneo Province older $19.99 16 68% 480 $9.6k (exactly $9,595) Unistellar Industries, LLC
Venator Universe · EA $4.99 22 63% 660 $3.3k (exactly $3,293) Fullset Gaming
Burst Planet · EA older $19.99 4 75% 120 $2.4k (exactly $2,399) KX Games
Between Two Stars · EA older $5.99 6 50% 180 $1.1k (exactly $1,078) AdamGreen.tech
Stellar Odyssey · EA $14.99 2 100% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Warp Studios Pty Ltd

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