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Should I ship a Simulation MOBA?
MOBA + Simulation
Only 12 developers shipped a paid Simulation MOBA 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, BidKing, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 33 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 9 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360, ×0.3 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 33 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper, while revenue is up 115% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $359 (exactly $359) |
| Top 25% | $100k (exactly $99,697) |
| Top 5% | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 84 |
| Announced | 33 |
| Effort | 9 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.00 |
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 115% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 45%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- MOBA
- effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus a balanced hero roster
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 9 / 10 · studio only
- Systems
- MOBA, Simulation
- Price point
- $5.00 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 36% positive over 24,787 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
MOBA with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RoguelitePoor odds
- + AdventurePoor odds
- + Tower DefensePoor odds
- + FantasyPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + ActionPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
- + Hero ShooterDead
- + SurvivalDead
- + Battle RoyaleDead
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III | older | $39.99 | 14,436 50% | 433k | $17M (exactly $17,318,869) | Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive… (Relic Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
| | BidKing | $2.99 | 22,238 33% | 667k | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) | MindSurge Network & Games | |
| | Teamfight Manager 2 | · EA | $19.99 | 2,251 60% | 68k | $1.3M (exactly $1,349,925) | Team Samoyed |
| | Esports Life Tycoon | older | $19.99 | 605 61% | 18k | $363k (exactly $362,818) | UPLAY Online |
| | Pennon and Battle | $18.99 | 175 69% | 5.3k | $100k (exactly $99,697) | PB Studio | |
| | The Chronicles of Dragon Wing - Reborn | older | $19.99 | 158 77% | 4.7k | $95k (exactly $94,753) | Dragon Wing Studio |
| | War of Wizards | older | $19.99 | 140 70% | 4.2k | $84k (exactly $83,958) | Arcane Miracle Entertainment |
| | GoD Factory: Wingmen | older | $9.99 | 189 62% | 5.7k | $57k (exactly $56,643) | Nine Dots Studio |
| | Sanguo's Ambition 4 :Three Kingdoms | $9.99 | 101 68% | 3.0k | $30k (exactly $30,270) | Youshen Interactive | |
| | Tsundere Idol | older | $9.99 | 84 64% | 2.5k | $25k (exactly $25,175) | Norn |
| | Battle Waves: Card Tactics | $5.99 | 15 73% | 450 | $2.7k (exactly $2,696) | CAGE Studios | |
| | Fireworks-Bomb-GoodFriends | $5.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $359 (exactly $359) | MentalHospital | |
| | 奇妙大富翁(Wonderful Richman) | $4.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | 海棠果工作室 | |
| | Bepe War | $5.00 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | BepeDev | |
| | Falcon 2023(猎鹰2023) | $3.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | 独立游戏Sun_Official | |
| | Huiyu Spy Draw | $3.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | Huiyu |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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